Themes of social responsibility were covered throughout the three days of the 40th Asian Horse Racing Conference in Sapporo, Japan, and were reiterated in the closing speech on August 30 by Masayuki Goto, a 50-year veteran member of the Japan Horse Racing Association.
Goto laid out a list of issues horse racing must address to maintain what many at the meeting called its “social license” to operate in the face of attacks from opponents around the world. Among them, he listed addressing horse welfare and care after racing, responsible gambling initiatives and protecting the integrity of the sport.
“Building a strong foundation in the community is essential,” he said.
Horse racing must also adapt to warmer temperatures caused by climate change, he said. High temperatures have forced the cancellation of races in some parts of North America, prompted changes to registration times in Hong Kong and required new cooling infrastructure in other jurisdictions.
Earlier in the conference, presenters discussed the potential of moving Japan’s summer racing from the Tokyo area to Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island, where temperatures are less extreme.
“We understand that drastic measures are needed in the future,” Goto said.
The more than 800 delegates at the conference also heard near-universal reports of difficulties in recruiting enough staff to handle the tasks of breeding, stables, training and racing. Sarah Carmichael, CEO of the International Federation of Thoroughbred Breeders, said horse racing faced more challenges in that area than other industries because of challenges to its “social license.”
“We have to demonstrate to (potential employees) that we are a socially responsible industry,” Carmichael said. “They don’t want to be associated with an industry that gets bad press.”
There was also widespread support during the meeting for the World Pool betting system created and run by the Hong Kong Jockey Club. The World Pool aggregates bets from participating events around the world, providing bettors with much larger betting pools and significantly boosting overall turnover and revenue for the tracks hosting them.
Nick Smith, director of racing and public relations at Ascot racecourse in the UK, said joining the World Pool was a blessing for the Royal meeting.
“World Pool has provided a ground-breaking additional source of income,” said Smith. “It has allowed us to make some big changes, including raising prize money in excess of £10m for the first time. I know that won’t cause any gasps in this room. It’s a very different world.”
Peter V’landys, CEO of Racing New South Wales in Australia, said World Pool “has the potential to save world horse racing because it really highlights the big events in every country. It focuses on that event and players from all over the world can bet on that particular race”.
“World Pool Ireland has made our days fantastic,” said Suzanne Eade, CEO of Horse Racing Ireland. “It really has. We value our World Pool days very much.”
However, there are some opinions that global funds are not the optimal solution.
“I have some questions about whether a betting pool is the answer for us,” said Jason Scott, referring not only to the World Pool but also to the possibility of merging betting pools even within Australia.
“Betting has to be fun,” Scott said. “It has to be a little different. If we don’t change, we die.”
And Smith notes that while fixed-odds betting with the bookmaker, as opposed to pari-mutuel betting via the Tote, brings in less revenue for the race, that form of betting does create opportunities for things like “Build-a-Bet”-style bets that are becoming popular in sports betting.
In business, Hong Kong Jockey Club CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges was re-elected as president of the ARF. He is also head of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities. The 41st Asian Horseracing Conference was announced in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in conjunction with the Saudi Cup horse racing programme in late February 2026.
