Sky Racing World launches simulcasts of Japan races in North America

Looking to broaden your betting horizons as more and more tracks suspend racing? How does Japan sound?

Sky Racing World is launching a new simulcasting product that will make Japan National Association of Racing (NAR) horse racing available to North American audiences. The service will officially launch on Sunday night, April 5, with races from Tokyo City Keiba, Oi Racecourse.

Sky Racing World is a Louisville, Ky.-based distributor of international horse-racing content and a subsidiary of Tabcorp, an Australian wagering operator.

The Japan National Association of Racing is Sky Racing World’s exclusive partner in distributing the weekly simulcasts every Sunday through Thursday night. Initially, racing will be offered from three tracks: Tokyo City Keiba, Funabashi and Kawasaki, with Sunday night’s first post at 1:30 a.m. ET (i.e. early Monday morning). All races will be conducted on a dirt surface.

Audiences will have access to a range of quality Japanese racing events, including the Tokyo Sprint (Listed) on opening night and the 1 1/8-mile Japan Dirt Derby (G1) from Tokyo City Keiba on July 7. A familiar range of betting types will be available, including win, place, exacta, trifecta, superfecta, pick 3 and pick 4.

Sky Racing World’s catalog of thoroughbred simulcasting includes racing from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Korea and Singapore.

“We have been working together with Japan NAR to launch the simulcast of their Japanese racing product into North America for some time,” David Haslett, president and CEO of Sky Racing World, said in a news release. “It is pleasing to be able to introduce this quality entertainment offering, especially in these times when audiences have seen their usual sports entertainment offerings reduced. We have recently experienced the temporary cancellations of our racing simulcasts from New Zealand, South Africa and Korea due to coronavirus.”

Haslett added: “The launch of Japanese simulcasting is another important step in our growth as a leading provider of international horse-racing competition and we’re very proud to distribute this high-quality product on their behalf.”

Races are available to live-stream and wager at all ADW platforms and skyracingworld.com. Fans can also get free access to past performances at the Sky Racing site.