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Private company

Japan Racing Association

Logo: 日本中央競馬会, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

Horse racing organization in Japan

The Japan Racing Association (Japanese: 日本中央競馬会 Nippon Chūō Keiba Kai, or JRA) is a public company established in Japan under a law to operate Chūō Keiba (中央競馬 Central horse racing) and to manage racecourses, betting facilities, and horse-training facilities in the country. It was founded in 1954, according to the Horse Racing Law (競馬法 Keiba Hō) and the Japan Racing Association Law (日本中央競馬会法 Nippon Chūō Keiba Kai Hō) and is operated under the strict oversight of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Japan).2 It is headquartered in Roppongi.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

Sep 16, 1954Founded1
  • Industryequestrian sport1
  • HeadquartersNishi-Shinbashi1
  • Websitejra.jp
  • Legal formSpecially designated public corporation1

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HIBIYA FORT TOWER
Photo: W.CC, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons5

The Japan Racing Association (Japanese: 日本中央競馬会 Nippon Chūō Keiba Kai, or JRA) is a public company established in Japan under a law to operate Chūō Keiba (中央競馬 Central horse racing) and to manage racecourses, betting facilities, and horse-training facilities in the country.2

Products and brands

Racecourses (競馬場 Keiba Jō) – All racecourses in Japan have one oval dirt course inside and one or two turf courses outside. Some also have jump courses. Only three (Tokyo, Niigata and Chukyo) are left-handed (counter-clockwise) and the others are right-handed (clockwise).

Tokyo Racecourse (Fuchu, Tokyo)

Nakayama Racecourse (Funabashi, Chiba)

Kyoto Racecourse (Kyoto, Kyoto)

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Hanshin Racecourse (Takarazuka, Hyogo)

Sapporo Racecourse (Sapporo, Hokkaido)

Hakodate Racecourse (Hakodate, Hokkaido)

Fukushima Racecourse (Fukushima, Fukushima)

Niigata Racecourse (Niigata, Niigata)

Chukyo Racecourse (Toyoake, Aichi)

Kokura Racecourse (Kitakyushu, Fukuoka)

Off course betting facilities "WINS", "Light WINS" and "EXCEL" (about 40 locations around the country).The race course without racing will be an off course betting facilities named "Park WINS".

Admission fee is collected at the racecourses where the race is held, but not at "Park WINS" where the race is not held. However, reserved seats are charged.

"WINS" and "Light WINS" can be entered by anyone over the age of 20 who can purchase betting tickets, but "Excel" is not admitted until the membership registration is completed.

Some "WINS" have an "EXCEL Floor" with reserved seats. This is not a membership system, but an admission fee is required.

"Light WINS" is a facility that reduces running costs and initial costs, so the facility is small. There is no display to show the race broadcast or get various information.

There is also an off course betting facilities operated by racecourses belonging to the National Association of Racing, but betting tickets for Japan Racing Association may also be sold here.

Training Centers

Miho Training Center (Miho, Ibaraki)

Ritto Training Center (Ritto, Shiga)

Horseracing School (Shiroi, Chiba)

Equine Research Institute (Utsunomiya, Tochigi)

Equestrian Park (Setagaya, Tokyo)

Hidaka Yearling Training Farm (Urakawa, Hokkaido)

Miyazaki Yearling Training Farm (Miyazaki, Miyazaki)

Gate J. (promotion centers, Shimbashi, Minato, Tokyo and Umeda, Osaka, Osaka)

From Wikipedia’s article on Japan Racing Association, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

  • Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. Sep 16, 1954Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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