By Capacity: Top 5 Horse Racing venues in the world

Santa Ana Park Philippines

Horse racing is everybody’s favorite and I am too is an aficionado. My family and I always watch Philippine horse racing events at Santa Ana Park in Cavite. Because of love and passion, I researched the top horse racing venues by capacity in the world and I want to share it with you. Let’s start!

1. Tokyo Racecourse

Image Source: http://japanracing.jp/

Capacity: 223,000

Tokyo Racecourse is located in Tokyo Japan was the biggest horse racing venue in the world, accommodating 223,000 horse fans. It was built in 1933 for horse racing and considered as the “racecourses of racecourses in Japanese horse racing.

Tokyo Racecourse houses numerous Grade 1 races like the Japan Cup, Tokyo Yushun (The Japanese Derby), Tenno Sho, the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks), the February Stakes (G1), the NHK Mile Cup (G1) and the Victoria Mile (G1) and the Yasuda Kinen, which is a part of the Asian Mile Challenge.

2. Nakayama Racecourse

Image source: http://japanracing.jp/

Capacity: 165,676

Nakayama Racecourse built in 1990 in Funashiba, Chiba Japan was used for horse racing. It has two grass courses, dirt and a jump course. What is so special about this venue is that the jump course is very unique. It has several configurations that can be used in all races which horses must drop and climb over a steep embankment at the rear of the course. One specific configuration contains the two most difficult jumps on the course and is used only few times in a year, particularly for the Nakayama Grand Jump and Nakayama Daishogai races.

3. Hanshin Racecourse

Image Source: http://japanracing.jp/

Capacity: 139, 877

Hanshin racecourse is located in Takarazuka, Hyogo, Japan, built in 1949 shortly after the end of World War 2 and is mainly used for thoroughbred horse racing; the one of two large race courses in Western Japan, the other is the Kyoto Racecourse. These venues traditionally alternate their race meetings so that when one track is racing, the other is likely to be closed.

It has two turf courses, a dirt course and a jump course. Major races that happened here are the Takarazuka Kinen (G1), the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas)(G1) the Asahi Hai Futuriy Stakes (g1) and the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (G1).

4. Flemington Racecourse

Image Source: http://melbourneforeveryone.com.au/

Capacity: 130,000

Flemington Racecourse is a major venue for horse racing in Australia. It was built on March 1840 and is notable for hosting the Melbourne Cup which is the Aussie’s richest horse race. It is situated on low alluvial flats next to Maribyrnong River. It was added to the Australian National Heritage List on November 7, 2006 which was announced during the 2006 Melbourne Cup. It hosts many of the Aussie’s top races including the Melbourne Cup, VRC Oaks, VRC Derby, Newmarket Handicap, MacKinnon Stakes, Australian Cup and Lighting Stakes.

5. Epsom Downs

Image Source: http://www.racingsight.co.uk/

Capacity: 120,000

Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 Racecourse in Epsom, Surrey, England. The course is best known for hosting The Derby Stakes also known as the Epsom Derby, the United Kingdom’s premier thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old colts and fillies over a mile and a half or around 2400 meters.

It also hosts The Oaks Stakes a.k.a. Epsom Oaks for thee-year-old fillies, and the Coronation Cup for horses aged four year and up.

Future Plan

I want to visit these places in the next five years. I want to experience the culture, the festivity and the people. I really love horse racing that’s why I made Santa Ana Park Philippines my second home! I will update this blog once I visit each horse racing venues! For now, I’ll just keep enjoying the warm breeze of horse racing in Santa Ana Park!

Horse Racing Philippines: Types of Races

Image Source: http://horseracebetting.org/

Horse racing is not a simple race sport as we think. It is a complicated race where in a beast and a human must unite to achieve the goal to run first after the finish line. It is not the same as the Grand Prix where in turbo boosted cars are driven by amazing drivers.

Just like any other sporting events, horse racing in the Philippines and all over the world have different types. It includes flat racing, jump racing, harness racing and endurance racing.

Breeds of horses played a hugged factor for each races. Different breeds have developed to excel in each of the specific races. Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse, Arabian, Paint and Appalosa are the breeds used for flat racing. Thoroughbred and AQPS are perfect for jump racing events. Harness racing is for Standardbred horses.

Flat Races

Traditionally, flat racing takes place during summer. It involves horses to race along flat tracts without any obstacles. It is a race where horses gallop directly from one point to another; it may be a straight or an oval track. This race is all about speed. Individual flat races are run for about 440 yards or around 400 meters up to two and a half miles. Short races are referred to as “sprints” and longer races are known as “routes or staying races”.

This type of racing originally started at Newmarket in England. But today, the world embraces the race type and some of the most important events take place in Europe, Australia, and United States of America.

Rules and regulations may vary between countries. It is the most common form of racing around the globe.

Jump Races

In Ireland and Great Britain, jump racing is known as National Hunt Racing. This type of race can be subdivided into steeple chasing and hurdling.

Typically, horses progress to bigger obstacles and longer distances as they get older. With that a European jump horse will start in National Hunt flat races as a juvenile, move on to hurdling the next year and then if capable, move on to steeple chasing.

Endurance Races

Endurance riding is an equestrian sport based on controlled long-distance races. The length of an endurance event greatly varies. There are races that very short, around ten miles, while others can be as long as 100 miles. There are some races that is more than 100 miles and can last for multiple days!

Different lengths of races are divided into five categories:

1. Pleasure rides, 10 to 20 miles
2. Non-competitive trail rides, 21 to 27 miles
3. Competitive trail rides, 20 to 45 miles
4. Progressive trail rides, 25 to 60 miles
5. Endurance rides, 40 to 100 miles in one day, up to 250 miles in multiple days

Trails of natural terrain are used because of the very long race. Any horse breed can compete but in general, Arabian horses dominate the top levels because of its stamina and natural endurance abilities.



Horse racing is not a simple racing event as many are thinking off. Breeds and race types are factors to consider on who will win a particular event. Like racing cars, horses have different structures and abilities that is perfect for a discipline.

TAGS: Santa Ana Park Philippines, Philippine Racing Club