Korea Racing Authority (KRA) held an event to mark the 101st anniversary of Horse Racing Day at KRA headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi-do, on May 18.
The event was an opportunity to commemorate the historical significance of the Korean horse racing industry, prepare for the next century, and give words of encouragement to officials in the horse racing industry.
The event brought together KRA executives and staffers, trade union, horse owners, trainers, jockeys, other related organization representatives as well as the director in charge of livestock policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA).
The anniversary event in the morning proceeded with an introduction of horse racing chronology, an awards ceremony and a commemorative anniversary, in that order.
In the afternoon, about 18 KRA executives, staffers, and representatives of related organizations participated in a ceremony to pray for souls of horses who have already lost their lives.
Horse Racing Day dates back to May 20, 1922, when horse racing made its debut in Korea. May 20 was designated as Horse Racing Day in 1995, designed to help officials of entities related to horse racing pledge the sound development of the industry.
The day has been observed every year to remind the meaning of the origin of horse racing and its historical meaning in Korea.
This year’s Horse Racing Day fell on Saturday, May 20, and the anniversary ceremony was held on May 18.
Last year, KRA held the 100th anniversary, looking back at the past 100 years and declaring a vision for the next century to make a leap forward.
KRA and the Korean horse racing industry, which had endured hardships, caused by the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, barely managed to come back to normal last year, avoiding losses for the first time in three years.
Thanks to the good performance, KRA contributed 77.3 billion won, accounting of 70 percent of the previous year’s proceeds, as a livestock development fund.
In his commemorative speech at the 2023 anniversary event, KRA Chairman Jung Ki-hwan said, “I extend thanks to KRA executives, staffers, horse racing families and people in the horse racing industry for their joining efforts to share the burden to overcome a crisis and do their best.”
Chairman Jung said, “KRA will go for realizing of a vision of making Korea the world’s top five horse industry powerhouse, and KRA and organizations related to horses will continue to facilitate communications and unity to achieve the development of Korean horse racing and the horse industry.”
A scene of the film “Ride On,” starring the stuntman Luo (Jackie Chan).
KRA Holds Lottery Event to Review Trailer of Film ‘Ride On’
Korea Racing Authority (KRA) is holding a special event targeting subscribes of the YouTube channel “KRA TV,” to review the trailer of the film “Ride On,” to be released on May 31.
Applications will be accepted from May 12 until May 24 for the lottery appreciation review event. The film depicts a comic team played by the stuntman Luo (Jackie Chan) and the stunt horse “Red Hair.”
Lottery winners will be announced on May 26. The lottery will go to 200 winners, each receiving two tickets of the film “Ride On.”
_101주년 경마의날02.jpg)
