A trainer on sled encourages a 'Banei' horse during morning training session at Obihiro 'Banei' horse Race Track in Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan February 24, 2020. Picture taken February 24, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato
OBIHIRO, Japan (Reuters) - At Obihiro racetrack, spectators walk alongside the course as fast as the big beasts they've backed to win, cheering as they go. There's no sprinting in this contest: The adrenaline charge is all about power - pure, 1-tonne horse power.
The Obihiro track is for 'ban'ei keiba', traditional racing featuring giant farmhorses on Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido. Every Saturday, Sunday and Monday, the horses pull sleds that equal their own tonne in weight, guided by a jockey, along a 200-metre sand track - with two mounds to climb along the way.
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