News

KRA faces “punitive measures” for “malpractice”

On a bad Monday morning for the Korea Racing Authority (KRA), the state auditor named it as one of seven public companies out of thirty one inspected that will face punishment for various wrongdoings. The KRA’s alleged offence appears to have been to declare overtime work payments as “basic fees” thereby paying its employees too much. The announcement has intensified calls in some parts of the media for the KRA along with the other public companies (including the Korea Coal and Oil Corporations) to be privatised, as well as speculation that executives in the companies – who are appointed by the government may be replaced after the April 9 National Assembly elections. See articles here and here.

Cancellation caused by “poor track”

The KRA has come under fire for Sunday’s late cancellation which apparently came after some racegoers had entered the track. Local press has put the cause of the cancellation of racing on what turned out to be a mild and dry, if slightly breezy, spring day on the supposedly all-weather track down to there being excessive salt in the track which, during Saturday’s downpours turned the course into a quagmire. This had severely impeded jockey’s visibility making racing too dangerous. Indeed both last Sunday and on Saturday, conditions did not look fit for racing. Sunday was the fourth day of racing called off at Seoul in the past year – one following the death of jockey Lim Dae Gyu during a race last August and another two in November due to industrial action.

Cho narrows gap by one

Seoul Jockey’s Championship 2008
With just one day of racing over the weekend there wasn’t much change at the top of the leaderboard. Cho Kyoung Ho recorded two wins to Moon Se Young’s one to move to within ten winners. Shim Seung Tae also scored a double as did Choi Beom Hyun who moved into double figures for the year.

1. Moon Se Young 38

2. Cho Kyoung Ho 28

3. Park Tae Jong 18

4. Woo Chang Gu; Oh Kyoung Hoan; Choi Beom Hyun 11

Cho the nearly man as Moon pulls clear

Seoul Jockey’s Championship
Cho Kyoung Ho rode five seconds but only one winner on a weekend where Moon Se Young went 11 clear at the top of the jockey’s championship. Cho won Race 1 on Saturday but then suffered a series of near misses, notably on hot favourite Wind Rush in race 6. Moon Se Young picked up three winners on Saturday, including Bally Brae – after which he voiced his concern that Bally Brae was carrying too much weight in handicaps and was in danger of injuring himself – and a further two in the quagmire conditions on Sunday. Woo Chang Gu moved into double figures for the year and Ikuyasu Kurakane ended his recent lean spell with two winners on both days, doubling his year’s total to 8.

1. Moon Se Young 37

2. Cho Kyoung Ho 26

3. Park Tae Jong 17

4. Woo Chang Gu; Oh Kyoung Hoan 11

5. Chun Chang Ki 10

Quiet weekend at the top – Moon increases lead by one

Jockey’s Championship 2008
Moon Se Young returned from his weekend off with a winner on each day – Cho Kyoung Ho’s only success was on Jeokdaejeok on Saturday. Moon missed two chances on odds-on horses to increase his lead on Sunday afternoon. Park Tae Jong’s double on Sunday keeps him within 10 of Cho and Chun Chang Ki became the sixth jockey to make it into double figures for the year so far:

1. Moon Se Young 32

2. Cho Kyoung Ho 25

3. Park Tae Jong 16

4. Oh Kyoung Hoan 11

Top horses in Korea

We’ve added a page focusing on the top ten horses currently in training in Seoul complete with videos where possible. Simply CLICK HERE.

As Baekgwang isn’t currently considered among the top ten, there was no excuse to put his video on the page – so just for the sake of it, here he is tearing the field apart in the final 2 furlongs over a year ago.

Missed opportunity for Cho

Jockey’s Championship
With Moon Se Young stood down by the KRA this weekend, there was an opportunity for Cho Kyoung Ho to make a dent into Moon’s lead at the top of the jockey’s championship. It started well for Cho with two wins on Saturday but a blank on Sunday means he remains six wins adrift on 24 to Moon’s 30. It was a good weekend for Park Tae Jong and Chun Chang Ki who each scored four winners, Park now three clear of Oh Kyoung Hoan in third place.

1. Moon Se Young 30

2. Cho Kyoung Ho 24

3. Park Tae Jong 14

4. Oh Kyoung Hoan 11

Moon goes 8 clear

Jockey’s Championship
Another dominant weekend from Moon Se Young as a treble on Saturday and four more winners on Sunday means he has gone 8 clear for the year so far. Moon is on 26 winners, with Cho Kyoung Ho only managing one winner all weekend to go to 18. There was a first win of 2008 for Kim, Gui Bae – the oldest jockey in the paddock and a second win for Lee Shin Young.

1. Moon Se Young 26

2. Cho Kyoung Ho 18

3=. Oh Kyoung Hoan, Park Tae Jong, Yoon Dae Keun 8

Jockey’s Championship – Moon goes two clear

Four wins over the weekend took Moon Se Young onto 19 winners for 2008 so far. Cho Kyoung Ho scored one win each day. Yoon Dae Keun remains in third place while Oh Kyung Hoan’s four wins – including victory on Subsidy – on Sunday bring him up into fourth alongside Park Tae Jong. The weekend saw first wins of 2008 for Lee Jun Cheol and Won Jung Il.

1. Moon Se Young 19

2. Cho Kyoung Ho 17

3. Yoon Dae Keun 8

4=. Park Tae Jong, Oh Kyoung Hoan 7