Japanese Racing tidbits

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…in the fiscal 2018 third quarter. JRA [betting turnover] reached nearly 2,037 billion yen [GBP 13.75bn] as of October 2, up 1.5% from the year earlier. …..Online betting by both JRA and NAR – JRA’s PAT/IPAT (Personal Access Terminal/Internet Personal Access Terminal) online system together with telephone betting – accounted for 68.8% of total sales, up 4.4%. Within the near future, online betting is expected to amount to 70% of total betting and already accounts for 71.1% of NAR wagering.

…this year’s biggest topics included the record-making achievements of ..jockeys.

….Yutaka Take reached the unprecedented milestone of 4,000 JRA wins on September 29, showing no sign of slowing down as he approaches his 50th birthday next year. A national hero, he is much appreciated by not only racegoers but also the general public as a long-standing JRA champion who notched 3,000 career wins in November 2007 and registered more than 200 wins annually in his prime along with many historic records. Take, however, had his share of struggles in the past decade, taking 11 years to add another 1,000 wins after 3,000. During this same period, his career took a downturn following a major injury due to a fall in March 2010, resulting in Take coming up short of 70 wins in each of his three seasons between 2010 and 2012. However, he redeemed himself in 2013 when he claimed the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) title with Kizuna (JPN, by Deep Impact), and then notched over 100 wins for the first time in six years in 2015. He was in the spotlight by scoring five G1 victories between 2016 and 2017 in partnership with Horse of the Year Kitasan Black (JPN, by Black Tide).

…..Nanako Fujita, JRA’s only active female jockey, set a new record for career JRA wins by a female jockey when she scored her 35th victory on August 25. Debuting in March 2016 as the JRA’s first female jockey in 16 years, she registered 6 wins in her first season, 14 wins last year and 19 as of the end of this September, giving her enough wins to ride in G1 races.

….JRA wagering took a new step in September with the introduction of cashless betting machines to enable registered customers to place bets using a JRA-UMACA contactless card. The new card is linked to each user’s registered palm-vein information for biometric authentication to prevent fraudulent use and for reissuing cards. As with other contactless cards used widely in Japan, money is preloaded into the card. The new system also allows card holders to wager on Pick5 “WIN5” bets and designated overseas races, which previously had been limited to users of registered IPAT accounts, making both types of bets more accessible for those wishing to wager with prepaid cash. The new system began in September at Tokyo Racecourse and will expand to three additional racecourses between October and November as well as three off-track betting sites by the end of November.

http://japanracing.jp/_news2018/181023-02.html

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