Hokkaido Horse Racing Story

While you need to continue to be vigilant about inflammation, you can start trying some physical therapy and progressive activities.

As he lowered his head to prepare the injection, the reed-haired horse pricked up its ears.

When Kitano turned around, Medo Hirama had already stood up and shrank into the corner against the wall.

It's almost like "I hate injections" is written on his face.

Finally, with the help of Rachel Ho, the injection was successfully completed.

Inevitably, I broke out in a sweat.

"correct--"

He picked up the phone while panting.

The screen is reporting on bear sightings in Hokkaido.

"Members from the landscaping company will be coming over soon. If possible, try to entertain them."

After putting the medicines in the basket back in place, Kitano said.

"Are we going to start decorating the ranch soon?"

Rachel Ho looked a little surprised.

"No, this time we're asking them to clear the brush and weeds near the pasture."

Kitano explained, shaking his head.

Since last month, bear sightings in Shizunai and Sanshi have gradually increased again.

Mejiro Ranch, backed by the Hidaka Mountains, is located within one of the "bear activity areas."

Although the ranch representatives in the town spend a large sum of money every year to hire a bear extermination team to go into the mountains to clear the area, according to Ogawa Jō, the results do not seem to be very ideal.

So, Kitano, who paid the employment fee without knowing what was going on, had to flip through the "Bear Control Manual" distributed by the neighborhood association.

Clearing an ecological barrier around the pasture was one of the methods he had learned from the manual.

Whether it works or not is another matter.

"Hey, is there a bear?"

The girl widened her eyes slightly.

"There are bear-proof safe houses in the stables and staff quarters. If you see one, just hide in one."

Kitano pointed to the small room in the corner of the stable.

Bears usually do not actively show aggression when there is still enough food.

Even if you occasionally stray into a pasture, the bigger concern is the possibility of spooking the racehorses.

"Didn't we remind them at last week's town meeting?"

On the other side, Lavid, who was changing his shoes, also joined the conversation.

"Hey, I don't understand—"

Rachel Ho scratched her head a little embarrassedly.

Her broken Japanese was of little use at the town meeting.

I can't understand the Hokkaido accent at all.

Lavid could only shrug his shoulders and show a helpless expression.

"Please be careful when you go to the town."

Before leaving the stable, Kitano gave the two of them instructions.

Last year, there were reports of bear sightings in Mino and Hashi.

"Okay!"

Rachel Ho waved the prevention and treatment manual that Kitano handed to her and replied loudly.

Lavid also nodded slightly.

This is the end of the morning's work.

Zep will replace Medaihira's hoof pads with normal ones later today.

After taking a shower, Kitano walked towards the parking lot with toast in his hand.

Although there are no additional ingredients, it can still be considered a proper breakfast after being perfunctorily cooked in the toaster.

He finished the slightly crispy toast in a few bites and started the car.

The target was the Sapporo Racecourse, approximately 170 kilometers away, and the estimated travel time was about three hours.

In the southern Hokkaido area, which is not covered by the JR line, transportation is so inconvenient.

"Perhaps the decline of the horse breeding industry in the Hidaka region is also related to transportation."

On the way, Kitano naturally had this thought.

I heard that in France and the UK, trainers and riders even use helicopters to commute between training bases and racing venues.

For Japan, this approach is still a little too early.

Moreover, the routes from Hokkaido to the major horse racing venues in Kanto and Kansai are not accessible by helicopter.

As for the trainers and riders who live in the two major training centers for a long time, there is basically no need to commute by helicopter.

Amidst the clichéd enka music, the random thoughts in my mind gradually began to dissipate.

In this way, we staggered to Sapporo, which was a three-hour drive away.

Thanks to Silver Hair Yaksha for the 500 starting coins reward

Thank you for your support

Ciallo～(∠ω<)⌒★

Chapter 151 The sad star day

The white summer sky is covered with clouds.

Despite this, there was still a considerable degree of heat in the air.

There are still a few parking spaces available in the parking lot in front of the racecourse.

But apart from that, there were quite long queues in both the toilets and the restaurant.

Walking towards the front gate of the racecourse, many horse lovers were complaining about the traffic and queues along the way.

Rumors circulated last month that the JRA was seriously considering upgrading the Sapporo Kinen to a G1 event.

After seeing this scene, I believe many people who have illusions about this will change their minds.

In Hokkaido, it is unrealistic to build a large racecourse that can accommodate more than 100,000 people, or the various surrounding facilities that go with it.

Among the crowded facilities, one of the few empty spaces is the sidewalk leading to the racecourse.

As there were two WASJ first day races in the afternoon, the first race of the World Riders Series had to be squeezed into the morning along with a number of new or undefeated races.

By the time Kitano found his seat in the stands, the day's first winless 2-year-old race had already ended.

On the way to the unsaddle area, Taketoshi on horseback swung his whip towards the stands.

Taketoshi's call rang out in my ears, as if it had been practiced in advance.

The black deer-haired horse under the rider also looked towards the stands, and unconsciously took a somewhat funny crab step.

Kitano also smiled and joined the sporadic applause.

But soon, his face changed into a somewhat subtle expression.

Although he cooperated with the publicity in advance, he was also not optimistic about the prospects of WJS Sapporo Station.

If the purpose is to promote horse racing, Sapporo Racecourse is not an ideal choice for a venue.

The poor publicity of the first few stops also confirmed what one of the initiators, Li Muhua, said when introducing WJS:

"This is just a fairly preliminary idea."

While the track was being prepared, new spectators began to enter the stands, but their number was not too large.

The first event of WJS Sapporo Station started with the broadcast of the debut circle.

It was quite different from the scene that Kitano had imagined, which was similar to the NBA All-Star Weekend.

There was no such thing as an opening ceremony.

Apart from the perfunctory-sounding roll call when the riders came on stage, there was almost no atmosphere that should be present in a star weekend.

Until the gates opened, the live broadcast was still introducing WJS's overly complicated scoring rules.

At the start of the race, Taketoshi, who was near the inner gate, took the lead without hesitation.

Many horse fans who are familiar with Taketoshi's magic even started celebrating early by holding up cheering boards with the rider's portrait.

Some horse racing fans acted as if they were shocked.

In football, basketball and most popular sports, similar cheering signs have become quite common and even outdated.

However, for horse racing, this way of supporting still seems a bit fresh.

In the subsequent races, Wu Feng lived up to expectations and maintained his advantage to the end by controlling his pace.

From the competition itself, the competition between high-level riders is enough to feast the eyes of veteran horse fans.

However, the content beyond that is really hard to describe.

"The click of a single Lakers offensive snap is worth ten Boston championships."

This is what is recorded in old Bass's autobiography.

Although it may be seriously exaggerated, this statement does reveal some basic laws of how the sports industry operates.

It takes more than just high-level competition to attract the attention of people outside the circle.

Returning to reality from my ever-wandering thoughts, the applause that had previously filled my ears has gradually subsided.

Just like the previous race, the winning rider maneuvered his horse close to the railing to take his leave.

As Taketoshi's calls rang out in unison, as if they were trained, human-shaped standees were raised one after another.

I don't know where to start complaining about this somewhat weird scene.

The applause continued and Kitano stood up and walked down the stands.

"Congratulations, Rider Taketoyo."

Kitano took the trophy from the staff and handed it to Taketoyo with a smile.

Whether it is the shape of the trophy or the look of the rider on the stage, it is really difficult to evaluate.

"Thank you for your hard work, President Kitano."

Wu Feng bowed slightly, and his expression as he held the trophy could not be described as complete joy.

It seems that there are more than one person who feels regretful about this game.

"Thank you for your hard work, too."

Regardless, these riders are indeed trying to find ways to promote horse racing.

It is precisely because of this that Kitano proposed sponsorship for WJS.

Most of this will be distributed as subsidized travel expenses to the less well-off riders in the twelve teams - most of whom are young faces from Europe.

Holding the trophy together, the two uninterested people gave a formal smile to the camera.

Several unfamiliar female voice actors also stood by as award presenters.

Of course, apart from Yokoyama Chisa, Kitano couldn't recognize many voice actors.

We barely squeezed in front of the small podium to take a group photo, and the mission ended here.

In every sense, it can only be considered sloppy.

It seems that this is the result of learning from the experience of the previous few stops.

It's a pity you can still do it——