This Year's Derby First to be Simulcast Into Japan

Churchill Downs Inc. soon will get an answer to its question of how much Japanese racing fans will follow, and bet on, the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) May 4.

This year's Derby will be the first to take advantage of changes in recent years to Japanese simulcasting rules that will allow residents of Japan to bet on the race, as well as Derby qualifying rules that facilitate a Japan-based runner.

"We look forward to seeing how the Japanese bettors react to this opportunity," Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen said last week during a conference call with investors. "Japanese bettors who have online wagering on horse racing as we do in the U.S., will be able to place their bets on the day before the race right up until the moment the race starts."

A 2015 Japanese law change allowed select races to be imported from outside Japan into the country for wagering. In 2016 Japan-based runner Lani qualified for the Derby as the winner of the UAE Derby sponsored by The Saeed & Mohammed Al Naboodah (G2), bringing added attention to the American classic where Lani finished ninth. Lani also ran in the other two Triple Crown races with his best finish being third in the Belmont Stakes (G1).

In 2017, Churchill created the Japan Road to the Derby reserving one spot in the field of 20 for a horse from a series of races in Japan. No horse from the series entered the Derby until this year when the top three finishers in the Japan Road declined, allowing Katsumi Yoshizawa to accept for his homebred Master Fencer.

As a result, the Derby will be available for separate-pool wagering in Japan, with the race being run just before 8 a.m. Sunday Japan time. With tracks closed that early in the morning, bettors will be able to wager through account wagering, typically Internet and mobile platforms.

"Having spent quite a bit of time in Japan over the past few years and having seen the enthusiasm of the racing fans there, it's thrilling to do what we can to expand the popularity of the Kentucky Derby to that atmosphere," said Mike Ziegler, Churchill's executive director of racing.

Churchill officials don't know how much of a wagering impact to expect, "but we're excited to see" how the Japanese will react to the Derby, Ziegler said. "I think they're going to be interested in the Kentucky Derby because they're an intelligent wagering public who are fans of horse racing."

According to France Galop, about 50 million euros are bet on the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe each year, with most of the 30 million euros bet internationally coming from Japan.

The 2017 Belmont was the first Triple Crown race imported into Japan despite the scratch of the Japanese horse Epicharis. The New York Racing Association reported almost $4.7 million bet on that year's Belmont from Japan, aside from the $47.2 million wagered into the U.S.-based pools.

In addition to working with the Japan Racing Association to publicize the Derby, Ziegler said Churchill officials are working closely with them to format and present handicapping data in ways "that they're used to, to make it an easier proposition for the Japanese betting public."

The differences are more presentation than substance, Ziegler said.

Ziegler said the Japanese wagering will contribute to Churchill track purses in the same way that other separate-pool wagers do.

"We're just excited to engage international racing jurisdictions in growing the Derby," he said.

Besides wagering, Carstanjen said attempting to reach an international audience for the Derby, which also has a European Road that has yet to produce a starter, is more than wagering.

"This is a great event, a truly iconic and American event," Carstanjen said. "And the opportunity to push this product internationally and encourage folks to come to our country and make it a stop on their bucket list of U.S. events to attend is also something that there's great promise. That's something we'll keep working on to reach those international guests."