The Korea Racing Authority (KRA) began applying its 2025 racing implementation plan on 1 January 2025, according to the plan document published on 3 January 20251. The plan sets the racing period for the year at 3 January to 12.281.
The season is scheduled for 1,044 races, with 715 of those at the Busan-Gyeongnam and Jeju tracks, according to the plan's summary table1. Jeju Racecourse is listed for 708 races, which the plan describes as the maximum scale on the premise that a reserve race day of six races is held on 27 December1. Race days are listed at 98 for each of the three tracks1. First race times are given as 11:00 at Seoul, 10:35 at Busan-Gyeongnam and 10:35 at Jeju in one table, and as 14:00, 12:30 and 10:35 in another1. The plan lists a closure from 31 January to 2 February at all three tracks for the Lunar New Year holiday1. Field sizes are given as 8 to 14 horses at Seoul and Busan-Gyeongnam and 8 to 16 at Jeju, with 1,000m races restricted to rookie race conditions1.
On incentives, the plan states that mandatory self-starting will be pushed forward from the upper grades in '27, with the pool of horses eligible for prize money incentives reduced in stages1. It also states that the separate selection system by breed, Thoroughbred and Jeju horse, is abolished and that jockey selection is consolidated, with all test screenings run together and no separate screening for Jeju horses1. The initial rating standard for imported horses returns to the previous level, from R40 to R381.
Two new races are listed, the KRA Sprint at Seoul and the KRA Sprint at Yeongnam1. The plan states that the MJC and STC trophy races end, and that a Singapore Turf Club (SPPL) trophy and a New Zealand (NZTR) trophy are newly established with adjusted timing1.
"2026년 3월 영천경마장 완공에 따라 부산경남·영천(경북)을 영남 권역으로 블록화, 권역형 순회경마 체계 구현"
The plan also covers the Yeongcheon racecourse, scheduled for completion in March 2026, with an annual scale of 120 races in its second year of opening1. Its first year, '26, is listed for September to November over 12 weeks, and normal operation from '27 for March to June and September to November over 20 weeks, racing once a week on Sundays1.
What it means for players
The plan changes the shape of the Korean racing calendar rather than the rules of betting. The season runs from 3 January to 12.28, with 1,044 races scheduled and 98 race days at each of Seoul, Busan-Gyeongnam and Jeju1. Players at Jeju have the largest single-track program at 708 races, contingent on the reserve day on 27 December1. All three tracks close from 31 January to 2 February for the Lunar New Year holiday1.
Two trophy races end and two are added, so the pattern of feature races on the calendar changes1. The return of the imported horse initial rating from R40 to R38 affects how new foreign-bred horses are placed in races, which in turn affects the fields players see1. The consolidation of jockey selection and the removal of separate breed screening change how riders are allocated across Thoroughbred and Jeju horse races1. Details of bet types, pool minimums and how places are paid are covered in the guide to horse racing bet types and win and place bets.
What happens next
Self-starting becomes mandatory from the upper grades in '27, with prize money incentives reduced in stages1. The Yeongcheon racecourse is due for completion in March 2026, after which Busan-Gyeongnam and Yeongcheon are to be grouped into a Yeongnam zone under a zone-based circuit racing system1. Yeongcheon is listed to race in September to November '26 and, from '27, in March to June and September to November1.
Sources1 sources
- raceplan2025_20250103.hwp, race.kra.co.kr
