Oct 18, 2009: Banei

xoxoxoBruce · 10-18-2009, 12:02 AM

Banei is a breed of horse, draft (drought) horse, in Japan.
They aren't used much in agriculture anymore, but they do race them.
They race on flat tracks, with jockeys, in age classes, like thoroughbreds, but more interesting to me, albeit slower, pulling sledges.

photo from Boston dot com's, The Big Picture

Quote:

In Japan horse meat is sold on the meat market where it is considered a gourmet food item and can sell for as much as 500 Francs per kilo. Another activity involving draught horses is sledge racing. The race course is 250 metres long and 5 lanes wide. It is not flat, the teams must negotiate two humps during the race. The sledges weigh 300 kilos empty, but for the races they are loaded to a total weight of between 700 kilos and 1 tonne. The events are well attended because a betting circle operates at the track. link

Losers get eaten, I guess, unlike the dating world.

Quote:

Draft-horse racing, called Banei Keiba in Japanese, only exists in Obihiro City, Hokkaido, an island located in the north of Japan. Draft horses are twice as big as thoroughbreds and drag more than 1,000 pounds of sleighs along the 218-yard dirt course during a race. This unique horse racing started about a hundred years ago while the horses were primarily used for farming. Over years, producers developed the draft horses exclusively for races. Today, about 10,000 individuals are involved in the draft-horse racing industry. However, changes in people’s leisure time activities and decline in the population in the surrounding towns almost led draft-horse racing to close its history. However, the large oppositions from fans saved the draft-horse racing, although its future is still uncertain. All the photographs were taken in March 2007. link

Today's Banei were developed from Percheron, Breton, and Belgian horses from Europe, because the traditional Jap horses were considerably smaller.

More pictures on flickr.

Eclipse · 10-18-2009, 02:38 AM

Looks really tiring for the horses -- they even stop several times along the way. At least I'm guessing that's from exhaustion. Lactic acid can't be good for the taste

SPUCK · 10-18-2009, 04:55 AM

Completely solves the retired greyhound problem.

Oh, the race has started! I'm gonna go get a burger. I'll be back before it's over.

capnhowdy · 10-18-2009, 08:56 AM

WOOHOO!

Dale Earnhardt reincarnated. But it looks like Robbie Gordon is a little aHEAD.

Cloud · 10-18-2009, 10:11 PM

I don't get the sled part

xoxoxoBruce · 10-19-2009, 03:47 AM

They're draft horses, Cloud.

SPUCK · 10-19-2009, 04:18 AM

Yeah but doesn't that mean they're supposed to go really fast and close?

spudcon · 10-19-2009, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

They're draft horses, Cloud.

Do they come in a bottle too?

Spexxvet · 10-19-2009, 09:03 AM

The call sounded like it was done by a Japanese Ben Stein. Bueller? Bueller?

Cloud · 10-19-2009, 09:12 AM

sure, but what's wrong with a regular cart? Did the races develop on ice or something?

Coign · 10-19-2009, 10:05 AM

I would guess it would be a sled to emulate the farm horses pulling a plow through a field.

Cloud · 10-19-2009, 10:23 AM

okay, that makes sense.

I wonder if you could snowboard behind one of those things. Like waterskiing, sort of.

xoxoxoBruce · 10-19-2009, 11:13 AM

Draft horses are about power, not speed.

lawman · 10-19-2009, 06:56 PM

That video sure showed an exciting race....not. The one jockey sure was whipping the crap out of his horse.

Griff · 10-19-2009, 08:41 PM

Pony pulls used to be a big deal around here.

10-18-2009, 08:56 AM	#4
capnhowdy Blatantly Homosapien Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 6,200	WOOHOO! Dale Earnhardt reincarnated. But it looks like Robbie Gordon is a little aHEAD. __________________ Please type slowly. I can't read very fast............... and no holy water, please.

10-18-2009, 10:11 PM	#5
Cloud ... Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 8,360	I don't get the sled part __________________ "Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will. And outlive the bastards!"

10-19-2009, 03:47 AM	#6
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	They're draft horses, Cloud. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

10-19-2009, 09:03 AM	#9
Spexxvet Makes some feel uncomfortable Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 10,346	The call sounded like it was done by a Japanese Ben Stein. Bueller? Bueller? __________________ "I'm certainly free, nay compelled, to spread the gospel of Spex. " - xoxoxoBruce

10-19-2009, 09:12 AM	#10
Cloud ... Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 8,360	sure, but what's wrong with a regular cart? Did the races develop on ice or something? __________________ "Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will. And outlive the bastards!"

10-18-2009, 02:38 AM	#2
Eclipse Sibling of the Commonweal Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 16	Looks really tiring for the horses -- they even stop several times along the way. At least I'm guessing that's from exhaustion. Lactic acid can't be good for the taste

10-18-2009, 04:55 AM	#3
SPUCK Professor Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 1,911	Completely solves the retired greyhound problem. Oh, the race has started! I'm gonna go get a burger. I'll be back before it's over.

10-19-2009, 04:18 AM	#7
SPUCK Professor Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 1,911	Yeah but doesn't that mean they're supposed to go really fast and close?

10-19-2009, 10:05 AM	#11
Coign Wanted Driver Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Vail, CO Posts: 279	I would guess it would be a sled to emulate the farm horses pulling a plow through a field. __________________ Quoting yourself is the height of hubris. -Coign

10-19-2009, 10:23 AM	#12
Cloud ... Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 8,360	okay, that makes sense. I wonder if you could snowboard behind one of those things. Like waterskiing, sort of. __________________ "Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will. And outlive the bastards!"

10-19-2009, 11:13 AM	#13
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Draft horses are about power, not speed. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

10-19-2009, 06:56 PM	#14
lawman unerringly questioning Join Date: May 2002 Location: Whitehorse, Yukon Posts: 100	That video sure showed an exciting race....not. The one jockey sure was whipping the crap out of his horse.

10-19-2009, 08:41 PM	#15
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	Pony pulls used to be a big deal around here. __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

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