Day: January 5, 2008

Racing Preview – Sunday January 6

Warning: Unless you get up early, you won’t see much racing
Another 11 races start at 11:ooam Sunday but a day at the races can hardly be recommended given the race schedule tomorrow. All three tracks – Seoul, Jeju and Busan –  are running cards and this means that at Seoul there is 55 minutes between races during the peak afternoon time. So unless you enjoy watching a lot of TV racing then stay home tomorrow.  For those who do have the patience to venture out, the best advice is to get there for the first at 11:00am and then leave after Race 5.  The most valuable race of the day is not until 5:10pm and is a handicap over 2000 metres.  Overall though, the card looks rather thin.

Schedules like this are a prime example of why a day at the races in Korea doesn’t have mass appeal.  From 11:50 to16:40 there is a break of an hour between every race,  no wonder it’s only hard-bitten gamblers who attend.

Racing Review – Saturday January 5

The 2008 racing year at Seoul Race Park began in bright sunshine this afternoon with a competitive main race won by 15.3 shot Hwangryongsaji (Choi, Beom Hyun). The 1800 metre handicap came down to the final few metres, Choi managing to hold off Park, Tae Jong on 1.6 favorite Namchoneuijichun by a length to claim the 52Million won prize. Every race was won by a different jockey, Moon, Se Young and Yoon, Dae Keun got their usual winners as did Ikuyasu Kurakane with a winner in the last. Danny Craven had three rides but was unplaced in each. The biggest priced winner of the day was a 70.5 shot which came home in race 7 under Choi, Jung Seob.

Racing returns at 11:00am tomorrow.