Kochi Racecourse, Horse racing venue in Kochi, Japan.
Kochi Racecourse is a horse racing venue in Kochi, Japan, featuring a right-handed racing circuit with a lap distance of 1,100 meters. The track varies in width from 27 to 22 meters, with a sand-heavy composition in the inner section.
The current racecourse opened in April 1985, replacing an earlier track at Sannbashidori 6-chome in the same city, whose site later became a children's animal park. It is the only racecourse in Shikoku and, since Fukuyama closed in 2013, the only one in the Chugoku and Shikoku regions. The Haruurara boom from late 2003 brought it national attention, and a financial reform begun in 2013 restored a surplus by 2016.
The track's nickname for its night meetings, Yosakoi Night, borrows from the Kochi summer dance festival. The name of the year-end feature, the Kochi Prefecture Governor's Prize, refers to the prefecture that co-owns the racecourse association. The Daruma Sunset Prize takes its name from the Daruma doll, a local good-luck charm.
On race days a free shuttle bus links JR Kochi Station with the racecourse. Outside race days, take a Tosa Denki Kotsu bus on the Minami New Town line from the Minami Harimayabashi bus stop and get off at Keibajo-mae. The track is a right-handed dirt circuit of 1,100 m with a 200 m straight.
The inner 3 metres of the sand track are deep, so horses often race slightly off the rail; because the surface slopes, the sand drifts outward and an inside draw can still pay off, with gates around three said to be favoured.
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