Teletrack Miyako and Teletrack Ashiro closed

The Iwate Prefecture Racing Association abolished Teletrack Miyako and Teletrack Ansho on January 27, 2026, according to the association's record of its managed facilities¹. Both were off-course betting shops, known in Japan as "teletrack," operated by the regional racing body that runs racing at Morioka Racecourse and Mizusawa Racecourse¹.

The association's remaining off-course betting shops inside Iwate Prefecture are:

• Teletrack Taneichi in Hirono¹
• UMACCO Morioka Odori in Morioka¹
• Teletrack Kamaishi in Kamaishi¹
• Teletrack Ishidoriya in Hanamaki¹

Outside the prefecture it lists:

• Wins Tsugaru in Inakadate, Aomori¹
• Teletrack Towada in Towada, Aomori¹
• Teletrack Yokote in Yokote, Akita¹
• Teletrack Yamamoto in Mitane, Akita¹
• Teletrack Samboongi in Osaki, Miyagi¹

Teletrack Miyako opened in 1987 as the first off-course betting outlet in the Teletrack series¹. The association has run racing since 1964 and is made up of Iwate Prefecture, Morioka City and Oshu City¹. It expanded in the 1990s to become the third-largest operator in Japan by sales, and built a new Morioka Racecourse in 1996 with a turf course inside the dirt track¹.

Some of the association's outlets have been converted to J-PLACE, a Japan Racing Association betting format. Tickets bought at a Wins outlet cannot be cashed at a J-PLACE outlet, and the reverse also applies¹.

What it means for players

The two shops that closed were part of the off-course betting network in Japan, where bets on horse racing in Japan can be placed away from the tracks. Anyone who used Teletrack Miyako or Teletrack Ansho now has to use another outlet, one of the association's online or telephone betting services, or a racecourse. The association's remaining shops are listed above, and the J-PLACE conversions at Kamaishi and Towada take effect in February 2026¹.

Because Wins and J-PLACE tickets are not interchangeable, where a bet was placed determines where it can be paid out¹. The association has not reported what will happen to the two closed sites or whether any staff or services will move elsewhere.

What happens next

The association's racing calendar runs from April to early January, with a special meeting of about six days in mid to late March, and a break from mid-January to mid-March¹.