Hanshin Racecourse

Hanshin Racecourse
阪神競馬場

The centaur statue at Hanshin Racecourse
Location	Takarazuka, Hyogo, Japan
Owned by	Japan Racing Association
Date opened	1949
Screened on	KBS Kyoto (Sat) Kansai TV (Sun) TVG Network (USA)
Course type	Thoroughbred - Flat racing, dirt racing, steeplechasing
Notable races	Takarazuka Kinen Osaka Hai Oka Sho Hanshin Juvenile Fillies Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes
Official website

Hanshin Racecourse (阪神競馬場, Hanshin-keibajō) is located in Takarazuka, Hyogo, Japan. It has a capacity of 139,000 and it is used for horse racing. The land was originally owned by Kawanishi Aircraft Company, which manufactured combat planes during World War II. After the World War II, GHQ ordered the company to stop manufacturing combat planes, which ended in closing the factory. In 1949, Keihanshin Keiba K.K. built the Hanshin Racecourse. The racecourse was transferred to Japan Racing Association in 1955. A major reconstruction was completed in 1991, and another in 2006.

Physical attributes

Hanshin Racecourse has two turf courses, a dirt course, and a jump course.

The turf's outer oval (外回り, sotomawari) measures 2089m (11⁄4 miles + 254 feet), and the inner oval (内回り, uchimawari) measures 1689m (1 mile + 261 feet). Two chutes allow races to be run at 1800m/1400m and 2600m/2200m, respectively. Races can be run on the "A Course" rail setting (on the hedge), or the "B Course" setting (rail out 4 meters). The dirt course measures 1518 meters (7/8 mile + 360 feet), with a 1400m chute.

The 2089m-long outer oval turf course was part of a major construction in 2006, and was a 400m-long extension. This would eventually remove two old chutes previously used, including a 1600m chute used for the currently-used 1689m-long inner oval course. The reconstruction (until the course was completely reconstructed) forced stakes races held in Hanshin during the second reconstruction period to be held in other racecourses, including Chukyo Racecourse and Kyoto Racecourse.

Hanshin Racecourse hosted the Japan Cup Dirt from 2008; races prior to that was held in Tokyo Racecourse. It has since been moved to Chukyo since 2015 and is now known as the Champions Cup.

Notable races

Aerial Photograph of the Hanshin Racecourse in 2012 by the National Land Image Information (Color Aerial Photographs)

Month	Race	Distance	Age/Sex
Grade I
Apr	Osaka Hai	Turf 2000m	4yo +
Apr	Oka Sho (Japanese 1,000 Guineas)	Turf 1600m out	3yo f
Jun	Takarazuka Kinen	Turf 2200m	3yo +
Dec	Hanshin Juvenile Fillies	Turf 1600m out	2yo f
Dec	Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes	Turf 1600m out	2yo f
Grade II
Mar	Fillies' Revue (Oka Sho Trial)	Turf 1400m	3yo f
Mar	Hanshin Daishoten (Tenno Sho Trial)	Turf 3000m	4yo +
Apr	Hanshin Himba Stakes (Victoria Mile Trial)	Turf 1400m	4yo + f
Sep	Centaur Stakes (Sprinters Stakes Trial)	Turf 1200m	3yo +
Sep	Rose Stakes (Shuka Sho Trial)	Turf 1800m out	3yo f
Sep	Kobe Shimbun Hai (Kikuka Sho Trial)	Turf 2400m out	3yo c&f
Dec	Hanshin Cup	Turf 1400m	3yo +
Grade III
Feb./Mar.	Arlington Cup	Turf 1600m out	3yo
Feb./Mar.	Hankyu Hai (Takamatsunomiya Kinen Trial)	Turf 1400m	4yo +
Mar.	Tulip Sho (Oka Sho Trial)	Turf 1600m out	3yo f
Mar.	Mainichi Hai	Turf 1800m out	3yo
Apr.	Antares Stakes	Dirt 1800m	4yo +
Jun.	Naruo Kinen	Turf 2000m	3yo +
Jun.	Mermaid Stakes (Handicap)	Turf 2000m	3yo + f
Sep./Oct.	Sirius Stakes (Handicap)	Dirt 2000m	3yo +
Dec.	Challenge Cup	Turf 2000m	3yo +
J-Grade II (Steeplechase)
Mar.	Hanshin Spring Jump	Turf 3900m	4yo +
J-Grade III (Steeplechase)
Sep	Hanshin Jump Stakes	Turf 3140m	3yo +

Track records

Source：レコードタイム表 (Record time table) -> 阪神競馬場 (Hanshin Racecourse)

• † Reference Time.
• Last updated on September 24, 2023.

Turf course (2yo)

Distance	Time	Racehorse	Sex	Weight	Jockey	Date Recorded
1200m	1:08.2	Mild Claymore	Colt	55kg	Mirai Iwata	December 4, 2022
1400m	1:20.1	Meikei Yell	Filly	54kg	Yutaka Take	November 7, 2020
1600m	1:32.3	Grenadier Guards	Colt	55kg	Yuga Kawada	December 20, 2020
1800m	1:45.6	Obsession	Colt	55kg	Christophe Lemaire	December 2, 2017
2000m	1:59.7	Satono Helios	Colt	55kg	Mirai Iwata	December 11, 2021

Turf course (3yo+)

Distance	Time	Racehorse	Sex	Weight	Jockey	Date Recorded
1200m	1:06.7	Tower of London	Horse 4	57kg	Christophe Lemaire	September 8, 2019
1400m	1:19.2	Resistencia	Mare 4	54kg	Yuichi Kitamura	February 28, 2021
1600m	1:31.1	Sodashi	Filly 3	55kg	Hayato Yoshida	April 11, 2021
1800m	1:43.0	Masked Diva	Filly 3	54kg	Mirai Iwata	September 17, 2023
2000m	1:57.2	Strong Titan	Horse 5	56kg	Mirco Demuro	June 2, 2018
2200m	2:09.7	Titleholder	Horse 4	58kg	Kazuo Yokoyama	June 26, 2022
2400m	2:23.5	Satono Glanz	Colt 3	56kg	Yuga Kawada	September 24, 2023
2600m	2:35.1	Miss Mamma Mia	Mare 6	53kg	Yuichi Fukunaga	April 11, 2021
3000m	3:02.4	Ask Victor More	Colt 3	57kg	Hironobu Tanabe	October 23, 2022
3200m	3:14.7	World Premiere	Horse 5	58kg	Yuichi Fukunaga	May 2, 2021

Dirt course (2yo)

Distance	Time	Racehorse	Sex	Weight	Jockey	Date Recorded
1200m	1:11.0	Meine la Lonja	Filly	51kg	Bunshi Funabiki	December 12, 2007
1400m	1:23.0	Adirato	Colt	55kg	Yutaka Take	December 24, 2016
1800m	1:50.9	Tagano Galaxy	Colt	55kg	Futoshi Komaki	December 22, 2012

Dirt course (3yo+)

Distance	Time	Racehorse	Sex	Weight	Jockey	Date Recorded
1200m	1:08.8	Sweet Jewelry	Mare 5	55kg	Yuga Kawada	September 8, 2013
1400m	1:21.5	In Orario	Horse 7	56kg	Suguru Hamanaka	March 31, 2012
1800m	1:48.5	Saqalat	Horse 4	54kg	Yutaka Take	July 10, 2004
2000m	2:01.0	Wonder Speed	Horse 5	58kg	Futoshi Komaki	December 23, 2007