Yoshito Yahagi believes the JRA (Japan Racing Association) needs to consider changing its rules if Japan’s trainers are going to advance even further as an international force. Speaking at the Asian Racing Conference (ARC) in Sapporo, the high-profile handler also broached the issues of summer heat measures in Japanese racing and diversity in the male-dominated industry.
JRA policy restricts the number of horses a trainer is allowed to have in their stables at any given time. Yahagi, a four-time champion at home and respected around the world for his big-race raids, has one of the biggest strings in Japan, but the total number of horses he is allowed to train is less than 80, and less than 30 of those are allowed to be in his main Ritto training base at any one time. That means his horses, as with all JRA trainers, are rotated in and out through training farms, the Ritto or Miho training centres, and the racecourses.
“The Japanese system is quite unique, and with that system I have only 28 horses in my stable at any time and my total number of horses is limited to 78,” he said.
“But when you look at the main overseas stables, they have 300 or 400 horses under their management. Under these circumstances it will be tougher for us to continue the fight, so this aspect should be changed, that would give us more strength to compete in overseas campaigns.”
Speaking to Idol Horse after the conference session, he added: “I just want to appeal to the JRA to have them consider this. I want to tell the JRA that Aidan O’Brien and Chris Waller have 300 or even 400 horses, so it is very difficult for me and other JRA trainers to compete with that.”
After talking about the rising costs for owners of travelling horses overseas, and the “crucially important” subsidies from overseas events to assist the process, Yahagi added his thoughts on a possible solution that might increase revenues into the sport: “I think we have to increase the number of overseas races (currently 32) that are open to betting,,” he said, “and if it’s done in that way, we can create a ‘win’ situation.”
He emphasised that his great desire is to see horse racing advance and raise its status to become a mainstream sport in Japan, but stressed that there is much work to do.
“My ultimate goal is that horse racing as a sport, the value of that industry should be raised more,” he said and highlighted that his own historic wins at the Breeders’ Cup in California in 2021 were not broadcast at home and were overlooked by the mainstream sports media.
“We had no live show of those races on TV here. I had those Grade 1 wins in the United States but there was little attention, so horse racing must raise its value so it can be considered a prominent sport.”
In a wide-ranging discussion on-stage, Yahagi also gave his opinion about the measures the JRA introduced this year to cope with the increasingly hot summer months. A long lunch break was incorporated after the morning races and the afternoon races restarted after the peak midday temperatures.
“We want to change the time of races, it’s a big burden for horses and people so we need to take steps towards better measures,” Yahagi said, and pointed to the possibility of moving all summer racing to the cooler northern climes of Hokkaido.
It was also noted that horses seem to be more relaxed before races that start in the twilight hours, around 7pm, than they are during the warmer afternoon hours.
“With the weather here in Sapporo in summer, the number of meetings here in Sapporo should be increased,” Yahagi continued. “Internet wagering is quite popular now and we have two race courses here in Hokkaido, Sapporo and Hakodate, so we could actually have all the races here in Hokkaido. That might be extreme but I think that’s the environment we’re living in. I have this sense of urgency.”
He also wanted to know what fans think of the lunch breaks that have been introduced, and said he would like to see some canvassing of fans to know their views.
“Taking lunch breaks, I’m not sure how fans received that, we want to hear more opinions and feedback from fans,” he said. “If they appreciate it, we could maybe prolong these rest times. We could research the behaviour patterns of the fans during the lunch breaks and we could bring in something that would make it more enjoyable for them during these rest times.”
He also highlighted the problem of rising temperatures in recent years affecting morning trackwork at his own stables at the Ritto training centre, and suggested an earlier start time.
“Compared to the past, the training has to be done in a shorter time. We can start training at 5am on weekdays, but we could start earlier,” he said.
“From 8am the temperature starts to go up so we aim to finish training by 7am. Looking at efficiency, we are implementing training routines that we can get through more speedily, because on hot days by 8am it can get to 30 degrees.”
Yahagi has invested in what he called a “very small farm,” a summer stable, on Hokkaido to help alleviate the stress on horses that comes with travelling in extreme heat.
“It’s in the middle between Hakodate and Sapporo racecourses,” he said. “I wanted a place to travel my horses in between these racecourses. There was a big change in the transportation industry in Japan in 2024 and that made it more difficult to transport horses from the racecourses to the farms. Because of the summer heat, I wanted this transit place between the facilities.
“It’s mostly for relaxing, it’s a small farm, we only have a treadmill, walking machines, that’s all, but for a week to 10 days, for a short period to refresh the horses, I think it’s quite sufficient.”
Yahagi also called for more women in racing. Earlier this year his assistant trainer Kyoko Maekwa was announced as a trainer for 2025, the first woman to be licensed as a trainer by the JRA for many decades. The ‘local’ NAR (National Association or Racing) has six female racehorse trainers on its books already, plus two who have retired.
“We have few numbers of female workers in the industry so I truly hope young women will be able to join our industry, that’s my strong wish,” said Yahagi, who grew up around the NAR’s Oi racecourse where his father was a trainer.
“With the demographic decline in Japan, I think the womens’ participation is particularly important, and with them I do believe the horse racing industry including the breeding industry will be more attractive. The female ratio of women working in stables is extremely low … Maybe 95% of workers are male.”
Yahagi also expressed that he is “very blessed” to have “very good facilities to train horses,” provided by the JRA, and that he is proud of the high quality of Japanese horses and the improved skill sets of Japan’s horsemen.
