The Japan Racing Association (JRA) has significantly widened the range of overseas races on which it can sell betting tickets, after a revision to the Horse Racing Law was published in the official gazette (官報) late last week.
The change to Article 3-2, Paragraph 1 of the law – which designates the overseas races eligible for JRA sale – took effect the same day, adding a large block of international Group 1s and graded stakes to the simulcast menu. The JRA will apply the change on future races starting from September 5.
The Hong Kong and Australian additions stand out among a selection that now extends from 32 to 116 top-level races. The JRA can now offer betting on the full set of Hong Kong Group 1s, including the Centenary Sprint Cup, Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup, Champions & Chater Cup, Hong Kong Gold Cup and Stewards’ Cup. The Australian expansion is headlined by the return of the Melbourne Cup and Caulfield Cup – both dropped after the 2020 revision – alongside The Everest and the VRC/Champions Day features.
Beyond the two focus markets, the revision brings in more US-based Breeders’ Cup and Champions Day races, the thoroughbred graded races on Saudi Cup day and Dubai World Cup day, and the European Classics and major older-horse Group 1s across Britain, France, Germany and Ireland.
The timing follows a standout Champions Day at Sha Tin in April, where Ka Ying Rising took the Chairman’s Sprint Prize for a record-extending 20th straight win, breaking his own track record, and Japanese players piled into the simulcast pools, betting a record JPY 4,279,400,400 on the day’s three feature races, up 20.6% from 2025.
Under the JRA’s current policy, designated overseas races may be selected for simulcast betting when a Japanese-trained horse is scheduled to run, subject to government approval. This revision could see the Flying Five Stakes on September 13 (Satono Reve) and Jockey Club Gold Cup on September 18 (Forever Young) as the first newly added races eligible for JRA simulcast. ∎
