Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 151 The sad star day

Chapter 151 The sad star day
The white summer sky is covered with clouds.

Despite this, there was still a considerable degree of heat in the air.

There are still a few parking spaces available in the parking lot in front of the racecourse.

But apart from that, there were quite long queues in both the toilets and the restaurant.

Walking towards the front gate of the racecourse, many horse lovers were complaining about the traffic and queues along the way.

Rumors circulated last month that the JRA was seriously considering upgrading the Sapporo Kinen to a G1 event.

After seeing this scene, I believe many people who have illusions about this will change their minds.

In Hokkaido, it is unrealistic to build a large racecourse that can accommodate more than 100,000 people, or the various surrounding facilities that go with it.

Among the crowded facilities, one of the few empty spaces is the sidewalk leading to the racecourse.

As there were two WASJ first day races in the afternoon, the first race of the World Riders Series had to be squeezed into the morning along with a number of new or undefeated races.

By the time Kitano found his seat in the stands, the day's first winless 2-year-old race had already ended.

On the way to the unsaddle area, Taketoshi on horseback swung his whip towards the stands.

Taketoshi's call rang out in my ears, as if it had been practiced in advance.

The black deer-haired horse under the rider also looked towards the stands, and unconsciously took a somewhat funny crab step.

Kitano also smiled and joined the sporadic applause.

But soon, his face changed into a somewhat subtle expression.

Although he cooperated with the publicity in advance, he was also not optimistic about the prospects of WJS Sapporo Station.

If the purpose is to promote horse racing, Sapporo Racecourse is not an ideal choice for a venue.

The poor publicity of the first few stops also confirmed what one of the initiators, Li Muhua, said when introducing WJS:

"This is just a fairly preliminary idea."

While the track was being prepared, new spectators began to enter the stands, but their number was not too large.

The first event of WJS Sapporo Station started with the broadcast of the debut circle.

It was quite different from the scene that Kitano had imagined, which was similar to the NBA All-Star Weekend.

There was no such thing as an opening ceremony.

Apart from the perfunctory-sounding roll call when the riders came on stage, there was almost no atmosphere that should be present in a star weekend.

Until the gates opened, the live broadcast was still introducing WJS's overly complicated scoring rules.

At the start of the race, Taketoshi, who was near the inner gate, took the lead without hesitation.

Many horse fans who are familiar with Taketoshi's magic even started celebrating early by holding up cheering boards with the rider's portrait.

Some horse racing fans acted as if they were shocked.

In football, basketball and most popular sports, similar cheering signs have become quite common and even outdated.

However, for horse racing, this way of supporting still seems a bit fresh.

In the subsequent races, Wu Feng lived up to expectations and maintained his advantage to the end by controlling his pace.

From the competition itself, the competition between high-level riders is enough to feast the eyes of veteran horse fans.

However, the content beyond that is really hard to describe.

"The click of a single Lakers offensive snap is worth ten Boston championships."

This is what is recorded in old Bass's autobiography.

Although it may be seriously exaggerated, this statement does reveal some basic laws of how the sports industry operates.

It takes more than just high-level competition to attract the attention of people outside the circle.

Returning to reality from my ever-wandering thoughts, the applause that had previously filled my ears has gradually subsided.

Just like the previous race, the winning rider maneuvered his horse close to the railing to take his leave.

As Taketoshi's calls rang out in unison, as if they were trained, human-shaped standees were raised one after another.

I don't know where to start complaining about this somewhat weird scene.

The applause continued and Kitano stood up and walked down the stands.

"Congratulations, Rider Taketoyo."

Kitano took the trophy from the staff and handed it to Taketoyo with a smile.

Whether it is the shape of the trophy or the look of the rider on the stage, it is really difficult to evaluate.

"Thank you for your hard work, President Kitano." Taketoshi bowed slightly, his expression as he held the trophy not exactly one of pure joy.

It seems that there are more than one person who feels regretful about this game.

"Thank you for your hard work, too."

Regardless, these riders are indeed trying to find ways to promote horse racing.

It is precisely because of this that Kitano proposed sponsorship for WJS.

Most of this will be distributed as subsidized travel expenses to the less well-off riders in the twelve teams - most of whom are young faces from Europe.

Holding the trophy together, the two uninterested people gave a formal smile to the camera.

Several unfamiliar female voice actors also stood by as award presenters.

Of course, apart from Yokoyama Chisa, Kitano couldn't recognize many voice actors.

We barely squeezed in front of the small podium to take a group photo, and the mission ended here.

In every sense, it can only be considered sloppy.

It seems that this is the result of learning from the experience of the previous few stops.

It's a pity you can still do it——

This is Kitano's true feeling after attending the WJS competition.

Apart from the promotional effect that is hard to describe, this activity will hardly bring any benefits to any party involved.

Of course, this was something that was expected early on.

Kitano squeezed out of the crowd and rushed towards the parking lot.

Starting from the east, the sky is gradually turning blue.

The sunlight became more dazzling and the temperature in the air rose a lot.

Near the racecourse, there are still long queues at facilities such as restaurants and toilets.

I took out my phone and the screen lit up.

The "X" icon suddenly came into view.

A light tap of the fingertips revealed that WJS's name was not on the hot list as expected.

However, when you click on the relevant topics, you will find scattered discussions there.

Amidst the screens of veteran horse fans and horse racing media, there are sporadic reflections from newcomers.

There are tourists who stumbled upon it by accident, fans who are cheering for the voice actor activities, and perhaps one or two curious viewers who were actually attracted by the publicity.

Kitano has no idea how many of the people who step into the Sapporo Racecourse today will become horse racing fans tomorrow.

However, the answer itself is not important.

His thinking will not be shaken by this.

Later today, I received a call from Taketoyo.

When talking about topics related to the competition, Kitano expressed his thoughts truthfully.

"I'm so sorry, President Kitano."

The rider's helpless voice came from the other end of the phone.

"No, it's nothing."

After a pause, Kitano continued, "Next year, please let Mejiro Shoji continue to sponsor us."

------------

"The 2026 World Star Riders Competition kicked off today, with Take Yutaka leading the Japanese rider team to the top of the list."

——"Nikkan GENDAI·Horse Racing"