THE Manila Jockey Club Inc. (MJCI), in cooperation with the Philippine Racing Commission (Philracom), is hosting the Japan Cup Races on Sunday at the San Lazaro Leisure and Business Park (SLLBP) in Carmona, Cavite.
Formerly known as the JRA (Japan Racing Association) Cup, which has been going on for more than a decade, the prestigious event features the local and imported divisions offering a total of P1 million in prizes.
The Philracom Japan Cup local race will pit Lollipop (jockey MA Alvarez), Mam Candy (KB Abobo), Manda (JB Hernandez), Morning Breeze (JT Zarate), Sky Hook (JB Cordova), Summer Romance (Val R Dilema) and Temecula (JB Guce) against one another, with the champion getting P300,000 and runner-up receiving P112,500.
Third and fourth placers pocket P62,500 and P25,000, respectively, with a breeder’s purse set at P15,000 to the breeder of the winning horse.
The Imported division, on the other hand, will have Anaffairtoremember (jockey Val R. Dilema), Ava Natalia (JB Guce), Mystic Award (JD Juco), Naughty Girl (JB Hernandez), Thomasina (JB Cordova) and War Dancer (RO Niu Jr.), with the winners receiving the same amount of prizes as the local category.
“The MJCI is privileged to host the Japan Cup Races, which have been steeped in tradition considering that it has been in existence for a decade,” said MJCI Racing Manager Jose Ding Magboo. “I’m sure we have another set of action-packed races for our aficionados.”
The Japan Cup Races is a reciprocal arrangement between the Philracom and the Japan Racing Association, which in turn, hosts the Annual Philippine Trophy Race.
The JRA will be represented in the Japan Cup Races by Hiroyuki Koezuka, Chief Representative of the JRA Hong Kong Office.
Established in 1867, the MJCI is the country’s premier horse racing club and one of the oldest existing racing clubs in the Asia Pacific region.
As a business entity, the MJCI was formally incorporated in 1937, operating the San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona, Cavite, which features world-class horse racing, gaming, and hospitality facilities.
MJCI’s broadcast outfit, the San Lazaro Broadcasting Network, transmits live horse races, eight days a month, enthralling a growing number of 300,000 horse racing fans at Off-Track Betting stations every race day.
Through partnerships with the Philippines’ leading cable-television and satellite-television providers, SLBN broadcasts Manila Jockey Club races to the entire country.
Each race day’s uninterrupted coverage also provides analyses, dividends, news, and special features on horse racing and other major sporting events.