Increased Japanese presence should provide bump to global BC wagering

Japanese bettors will be able to bet into separate pools on three Breeders’ Cup races this year, including the Filly and Mare Turf, where the country’s Loves Only You is 4-1 on the morning line, according to Breeders’ Cup officials.

The availability of the three races in Japan – one of the largest betting markets in the world – underlines the potential for a sizeable international handle on the Breeders’ Cup this year, at a time when racing leaders around the world are pushing for more international cooperation on simulcast signals. The Hong Kong Jockey Club, which administers betting in the most lucrative racing jurisdiction in the world, will also create separate pools for the Mile and the Turf, according to simulcast officials.

Japan is 16 hours ahead of California, where this year’s Breeders’ Cup will take place on Friday and Saturday at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, meaning the three Saturday races offered in Japan will take place on Sunday morning starting at 6:00 a.m. Hong Kong is 15 hours ahead.

Japan has created a separate pool for a Breeders’ Cup race only once before, in 2016, when the country’s bettors poured $7.5 million into a separate pool for the Filly and Mare Turf. Nuovo Record, a horse based in Japan, finished 11th in the race that year at a price of 19.60-1 in the U.S.-based commingled pool.

This year, the Filly and Mare Turf holds a much more significant betting interest for Japanese bettors in Loves Only You, the second-choice in a wide-open 12-horse field. Loves Only You has won in Group 1 company in Japan and, two starts back, won the prestigious Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup in Hong Kong, potentially expanding her fan base.

As of Wednesday morning, Japan-based horses appear in the fields of six races on the two-day Breeders’ Cup card. Jasper Great (15-1) appears in Friday’s Juvenile, while on Saturday, Vin de Garde (30-1) goes in the Mile; Marche Lorraine (30-1) in the Distaff; and Matera Sky (30-1) in the Sprint. Two Japan-based horses, Pingxiang (20-1) and Jasper Prince (30-1), will run in the Dirt Mile.

All told, according to Breeders’ Cup, 27 countries will commingle into the U.S.-based pools for this year’s event, including most of Europe and Central and South America. South Africa, which was one of the early participants in the international commingled simulcast market, will also commingle into the U.S. pool, as it has for more than a decade.

Ten countries will also offer their own separate-pool wagering on the event, including some jurisdictions that will also offer commingled betting into the U.S. pool, such as France and Mexico. In some cases, popular bets in foreign jurisdictions do not have equivalent wagers in the U.S., leading to the desire in those countries to create separate pools for wagers that domestic bettors favor.

Breeders’ Cup has offered international commingled and separate-pool wagering on its races for decades, but racing officials from around the world have been cooperating more fully in recent years to create large commingled pools tying together far-flung jurisdictions. In some cases, the efforts have required bet-processing upgrades, and the efforts have also been somewhat hampered by protectionist laws in some countries, such as Japan and Hong Kong, that limit the number of foreign simulcasts that can be imported.

Over the past three years, the Hong Kong Jockey Club has made the most aggressive push to get countries to open their borders to commingled bets, but the HKJC this year will offer only separate-pool wagering on the Mile and Turf. From 2019-2021, the HKJC hosted a commingled pool for the Royal Ascot meeting in England, leading to enormous gains in wagering for the meet.

“The Breeders’ Cup has been conducting global commingled, common-pool wagering for many years and looks forward to working together with other global racing organizations, including the Hong Kong Jockey Club, to expand the amount of countries betting into the global common pool,” said Breeders’ Cup, in a statement in response to questions. “We are a truly a global sport and can accomplish great things when working together to grow our great game.”