Haronz Kushiro scheduled to close

Haronz Kushiro is scheduled to close on 28 September 2026, according to a Japanese-language Wikipedia article on ban'ei racing, the draft-horse form of horse racing run in Hokkaido¹. The entry lists "2026年9月28日営業終了予定" (scheduled to end business on 28 September 2026) among its dated entries, and separately records that the facility "2024年10月4日に移転開業" (relocated and opened on 4 October 2024)¹. No operator, owner or regulator is named in connection with the closure, and no reason for it is given¹.

Ban'ei is described as a form of horse racing in which a horse pulls a sled while competing on strength and speed, and as the only form of horse racing of its kind in the world¹. As a public-sector race meeting it is run only by the city of Obihiro in Hokkaido, under the name Ban'ei Tokachi¹. The article states that from fiscal 2007 the full schedule has been held at Obihiro Racecourse, after earlier years in which race meetings rotated through Obihiro, Asahikawa, Iwamizawa and Kitami¹.

The sport's betting menu has expanded over time.

Prize money has been low relative to other Japanese public racing. The article also records that a 10-year-old retirement age for horses was reinstated from fiscal 2024¹.

What it means for players

For anyone betting on ban'ei, the practical effect of a venue closing depends on where the races themselves are run. The article states that the public-sector version of the sport is staged only by Obihiro city, and that since fiscal 2007 all race days have been held at Obihiro Racecourse¹. It does not say that racing at Obihiro is ending, and it does not say where bets placed at or through Haronz Kushiro would be handled after 28 September 2026¹.

The article describes a betting product that is already partly remote: OddsPark LOTO pools have been sold only through internet betting since 2010¹. It does not state whether that channel is affected by the closure¹.

No information on refunds, outstanding tickets, account balances or the transfer of any operations appears in the article¹. Whether the closure affects the number of race days, the prize levels cited above, or the sport's wider schedule has not been reported¹.

What happens next

The article gives one dated step: business is scheduled to end on 28 September 2026¹. No announcement by the operator, no statement on the future of the site, and no plan for the sport beyond that date is recorded in the entry¹.