Ban’ei Racing

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The Draft horse is bred in Japan for Ban’ei Races.

Ban’ei Racing dates back before the Second World War and I am sure much earlier than that. Originally the sport was developed by farmers as a way of valueing their horses for breeding and selling stock. It involves a horse pulling a heavy sled with a jockey over a set course.

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The courses vary in difficulty with inclines covered in sand. The sleds can be made heavier to test the strength of the horse varying between 450 kg's and 1 ton. Rules and regulations were placed and only horses over 4 years of age were allowed to enter. Only the champion horses were put to stud to breed the next generation as others were sold as horse meat.

The sport used to be very popular all over Japan ,but unfortunately there is only one track remaining today at the Obihiro Racecourse in Hokkaido. People are just not interested with this kind of thing anymore and things that were once important are no longer seen as part of the society.

The trackis 200 meters long with two hills in between where the riders can climb off and encourage their horses on. The race isn't about speed, but about showing strength. I watched the video and I saw it as cruel and is most likely the reason why the popularity has waned.

The horses would have been used as work horses on farms for ploughing and pulling carts, but in todays day and age they have been replaced by tractors.