The first domestic horse to win two consecutive Grand Prix titles
The strongest racehorse in existence, "Winners Man" (Korean-bred Soo 5, Kyung Hee Lee, trainer Choi Ki-hong, jockey Seo Seung-woon), won the 41st Grand Prix (G1) on Sunday (17th).
With this victory, Winnersman became the fourth horse in history and the first Korean horse to win back-to-back Grand Prix titles after Whaler ('85-'86), Acceleration ('90-'91) and Companion ('08-'09). He also earned his 10th Grand Prix victory, app
roaching the record for most Grand Prix victories held by Silver Wolf (11) by one win.
Winnersman and jockey Seo Seung-woon win back-to-back Grand Prix titles in 2023
Prior to the race, "Winners Man" was the overwhelming favourite with 1.2x odds for a single win and 1.0x odds for a winning streak. As most people expected "Winners Man" to win, more bets were placed on the trifecta (1.4 billion won) than on the second-place finisher (1.1 billion won).
Although Winners Man won the race, the details of the race were quite different from the popularity. After settling in the top five in the early stages of the race, Winners Man moved up to second on the straight opposite the finish line and entered the homestretch in third place, behind Tough Rock and Global Hit.
WINNERSMAN and jockey Seung Woon Seo win back-to-back Grand Prix titles in 2023
WINNERSMAN and Seung Woon Seo win back-to-back Grand Prix titles in 2023
With "Cornerstone" and "Global Heat" battling in-course, "Winners Man" dug into the relatively open space and showed the strides he had shown in his previous races and seemed to be on his way to an easy victory. However, Global Hit made a late charge and both horses crossed the line almost simultaneously. The crowd erupted, and after a photo finish, Winnersman was declared the winner by a nose. 
Winnersman now has 18 wins from 28 races, including 10 in the Grand Prix, and has finished in the top five in every race he has competed in. He added $550 million in purse money to his total, making him the all-time top earner in Korean horse racing history. The titles of Horse of the Year and Best Domestic Horse for 2023 were already confirmed in the Presidential Prix (G1). Much attention will be paid to the future career of "Winners Man," who has proven to be the strongest horse in Korea.
Baek Kwang-il, Choi Hyo-joo, Seo Hyo-won, Kang Dong-soo, Korea Horse Society
The Korea Horse Racing Association (Chairman Chung Jeong-hwan) will establish and activate an intensive response system to online illegal horse racing, which has been spreading rapidly in recent years, in connection with the launch of a pilot operation of online bookmaking on 15 December.
While the online market of legal gambling industries, including horse racing, is strictly managed by relevant laws and systems, the illegal market is under the blind spot of regulation, and advanced
While the online market of the legal gambling industry, including horse racing, is strictly controlled by relevant laws and regulations, the illegal market has been proliferating in the online space under the blind spot of regulation, taking advantage of the advancement of advanced ICT technology and encroaching on the legal market.
This seriousness is supported by the findings of the Korea Gambling Industry Integration and Supervision Commission, which estimates that the illegal gambling market will reach KRW 103 trillion in 2022, with online gambling accounting for 99 per cent of the total revenue. The illegal market has a high refund rate and no over-immersion prevention device, making it easier for users to become addicted to illegal betting.
Korea Horse Racing Association's Integrated Response to Illegal Sites
What is more serious is that online illegal gambling is indiscriminately exposed to youth. In response, the government has launched an interdepartmental response team to actively combat online illegal gambling among youth.
The Korea Horse Racing Association also announced that it has prepared more intense crackdown measures to prevent the spread of illegal horse racing, which is feared due to online bookmaking, by making full use of its own technology and capabilities.
Specifically, the intensive response system to illegal horse racing has been subdivided into three parts: online enforcement, on-site enforcement, and public protection, and detailed implementation tasks include enhancing the automatic detection system for illegal sites, operating an intensive enforcement period for illegal horse racing, strengthening monitoring of the use of online bookmaking and illegal trends, and expanding the blocking of illegal content online.
The race to the Olympics continues today
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The Korea Horse Racing Association (Chairman Chung Jeong-hwan) announced that it will hold an event horse race for Christmas on the 25th of this month. The event, which is part of the leisureisation of horse racing, will be held at Let's Run Park Seoul and will be organised as 12R. The Korea Horse Racing Association, which will offer free admission to its three horse racing parks in Gwacheon, Busan, and Jeju, as well as all of its branches, on the 25th, said it planned the event to reward customers for their support this year and to spread horse racing as a leisure activity with family and friends.
In addition, the KJRA is also striving to ensure that the keyword 'win-win cooperation' with stakeholders is not lost in the implementation of the Christmas races, such as the decision to partially increase the participation incentives and boarding fees for racehorses.
With a pleasant park environment, various seasonal festivals, and outdoor grandstand cheering culture, Korean horse racing is taking a step closer to becoming a leisure activity for the people. It will be interesting to see if their efforts to become more wholesome, along with the recently launched online sales, will attract more people to horse racing parks for Christmas.