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Ban'ei

Ban'ei horses in Obihiro Racecourse
Country of origin	Japan
Horse (Equus ferus caballus)

Ban'ei (輓曳 or ばんえい^?) is a form of horse racing, unique to the Tokachi area of Hokkaido, Japan. Powerfully-built horses compete by pulling heavily-weighted sleds up sand ramps while being urged on by jockeys sitting on top of the sleds.

The horses used in the races are Percheron, Breton, and Belgian breeds.

Formerly held in a number of places, ban'ei races are now only held at the Obihiro Racecourse. The popularity of the races has waned in recent years and the Obihiro racecourse nearly closed before Softbank, a Japanese mobile phone company known for its tie-up with Apple and the iPhone, provided funds for the races to continue. Former racehorses are usually sold for meat rather than put out to pasture until old age.^[1]

Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Course 3 Unique Points 4 Horses 5 Valuable horses 6 Famous jockey 7 Races (Ban'ei grade race) 7.1 Two-year-olds 7.2 Three-year-olds 7.3 Four-year-olds 7.4 Three and Four-year-olds 7.5 Three-year-olds and up 8 References 9 External links

[edit]History