Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 260 The Tomb of the Champion
Saratoga is the oldest large stadium in the United States.

The New York State Racecourse, with its 164-year history, is widely known by another name—

"Tomb of the Champion"

From the first "Big Red" fighter to the second "Big Red" secretariat, more than one legendary racehorse worthy of being recorded in American history has suffered an unexpected defeat here.

Kitano closed the simple travel brochure in his hand and yawned expressionlessly.

It's basically just copied and pasted from Wikipedia.

The horse owner and trainer stopped in front of the picnic area, weaving through the crowd.

The intersection leading to the racecourse.

Here, you can clearly see the famous landmarks of the Saratoga stadium—

"Dahongquan"

Under the white-roofed pavilion, a couple wearing cowboy hats are raising their phones to take a selfie.

Hey, you over there!

The curly-haired man wearing a cowboy hat waved at the two of them.

"Could you take a picture for us?"

As Huang Shan, sweating profusely, scrolled through his phone searching for a translation app, Kitano nodded without hesitation.

"of course."

Kitano took the phone and pressed the shutter to take a picture of the two people embracing intimately.

Just then, I heard the sound of a handbell ringing.

The horse racing fans who were chatting and enjoying themselves at the picnic site all stood up and cheered as they rushed towards the parade ground.

There are seventeen minutes left until the next match.

After returning the phone, Kitano didn't rush to follow the crowd.

If we're only observing temperament, there's no difference between here and at the parade ground.

Thank you, friend. May God bless you.

A man's voice came from behind me thanking me.

"You're welcome, friend. May God bless you too."

Kitano waved his hand without turning his head.

At this moment, the horses from the first auction race were slowly walking along the path toward the picnic area.

"A three-year-old muddy field, a mile long."

Huang Shan struggled to confirm the competition information using translation software, his expression gradually becoming serious.

Using a travel brochure as a makeshift sun hat, Kitano squinted as he observed the racehorses passing by.

"This one... has a hard time getting angry—"

My gaze decisively skipped over the first runner-up, and even the second and third runners still felt difficult to control.

As expected of a Marseille auctioned for $30,000.

When it came to the fourth member, the chestnut horse that came towards them no longer seemed like a formidable opponent at first glance.

I briefly recalled the pedigree book I had looked at not long ago, and it was indeed a completely unremarkable combination.

Having silently marked his hard-won first prospect, Kitano then looked at the next racehorse.

It is a rather uncommon chestnut hair.

Tochigi-haired horses are easily confused with deer-haired horses when viewed with the naked eye.

However, the hair of the Deer-haired Horse tends to be blacker closer to the soles of its hooves, while the Tochigari Horse maintains a uniform brown coat all over its body.

Although, sometimes this can cause confusion between Tochigi fuji and chestnut fuji.

Turning his head, he happened to make eye contact with Tochigi Mama.

It lacks the aggression and ferocity commonly seen in American stallions, and has a rather peaceful gaze.

The list of potential partners has now grown to two.

It wasn't a premonition like "it has a feeling it will be a famous horse" or "I always feel it can perform well".

Without even carefully recalling the pedigree information, the decision was made based solely on the simple reason that "it looks like a good-tempered horse." The gaze passed over the Tochigi's flowing mane and turned to the racehorses behind.

"It's still hard to stay in a bad mood."

It looked exactly like he was going to kill you.

Of all the runaway horses, the one that left the deepest impression was the pedigree of the Deer-haired Horse in front of me.

A 3x2 combination of concentrated blood within five generations.

It's unimaginable what kind of thinking a breeder would have in order to use such an absurd formula.

At that moment, the image of a Kentucky derby champion from not long ago suddenly flashed through my mind.

"Maybe he'll be the next overnight millionaire?"

He couldn't help but cast an expectant glance, and secretly used the [Detector]—

Then, his expression collapsed in an instant.

It seems that the stranger's blessing did not bring this level of good fortune.

After finishing observing the horses that had just left, I finally took a step out with a few scattered horse racing fans.

The horse trainer belatedly realized what was happening and hurriedly followed.

Until the start of the race, Huangshan was still struggling to read through the Breeders' Cup Association's outline for this year's race, which had been sent a few days earlier, with the help of translation software.

Unlike most races in the world, the Breeders' Cup Series, which was originally created with the goal of "selecting great stallions", uses a "pre-birth registration" system.

For stallions from outside North America, the Breeders' Cup will charge 50% of the stud fee as an entry fee for the stallion.

In return for paying the annual entry fee, the offspring of these stallions will receive the same full Breeders' Cup eligibility as North American breeders.

certainly--

Sakuya, being a four-wheel drive mascot, wouldn't enjoy such treatment.

Therefore, the registration fee that the team needs to pay is far more than the symbolic four hundred dollars for a stallion foal.

For non-nominated stallions born in the Northern Hemisphere and aged three or older, the entry fee is $100,000 per head.

Nearly fifteen million yen.

When they heard that number, both Kitano and Arashi were shocked.

Although it was still undecided whether to go to the Breeders' Cup Classic or the Fillies Classic, I quickly paid the registration fee.

This finally saved them from the terrifying login fee that would have risen to $200,000 in mid-July.

This extra $100,000 expense was met with resentment directed at BSS and the community, who own the four-wheel drive stallion syndicate.

Compared to the registration process, which has stumped countless Japanese horse owners, obtaining the qualification to leave the race in the Breeders' Cup is not too difficult.

Whether a horse can participate in the Breeders' Cup depends largely on its international rating.

Of course, in mud races where the gates are often not fully open, the importance of scoring will be correspondingly reduced.

Theoretically, even racehorses at the class level could potentially leave the Breeders' Cup if the money is right.

certainly--

What ranking they ultimately achieve is another matter entirely.

"It's about to begin."

Kitano shouted that.

So the trainer took off his reading glasses and looked up at the track.

In sight, the silhouette of the last racehorse also disappeared behind the gate.

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

"[Time report]

Mercury Cup winner Mr. Caesar aims for the Southern Cup.

The horseman said, "He undoubtedly has the ability to win Group 1 races. Both his physique and mentality have been honed to perfection. The only thing he lacks is the opportunity to prove himself."

The Rider of Kurama Sakai Rusei has been decided”

(End of this chapter)