The Japan Racing Association announced March 15 it is canceling all races at Nakayama Racecourse, on the western side of Tokyo, until the end of the month. One of two racetracks in the Tokyo area, Nakayama, was scheduled to race every weekend through March.
Damage from a 9.0 magnitude earthquake March 11 has created an unstable supply of electricity that may affect meetings at Nakayama for a while, according to Yutaka Yokoyama, senior manager for the JRA. He said the association is trying to hold scheduled meetings at Hanshin Racecourse and Kokura Racecourse this weekend.
“Both tracks are located in the west part of Japan and no damages have been found,” Yokoyama said.
The $2 million Takamatsunomiya Kinen (Jpn-I), the second leg of the Global Sprint Challenge, will be held at Hanshin Racecourse March 27.
Four group races are affected by the cancellation at Nakayama, which was scheduled to run the Flower Cup (Jpn-III) for 3-tyear-old fillies on March 19, the Fuji TV Sho Spring Stakes (Jpn-II) for 3-year-old colts March 20, the Nikkei Sho (Jpn-II) for 4-year-olds and up March 26, and the March Stakes (Jpn-III) for 4-year-olds and up March 27.
Nakayama's next scheduled group I race is the $2 million, 2,000-meter Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) for 3-year-old colts April 17.
