After the finish line — where 245 retired racehorses are now, and how to visit them
245 horses listed; 4 of them had their location confirmed on October 4, 2026
When a racehorse retires, it is formally reassigned — to breeding, riding, or leading the field at the track. It is also true that some horses never find a destination, and that side is set out with sources further down this page. But the thing worth saying first is this: 245 horses are living out their retirement on farms and at riding clubs, and you can go and see them.
Information about retired horses sits scattered across individual farms and organisations, and almost none of it is searchable by the horse's name. News, visiting arrangements, ways to help — most of it passes by unnoticed. This site gathers it into one place you can search by name: somewhere to hand the overlooked information to the people looking for a horse to follow.
I hold shares in three horses through a racing club, so the monthly upkeep invoices come to me. I started this because I wanted somewhere to follow my own horses once they retire. If someone who typed "what happened to that horse" into a search box meets one horse here, that is enough.
No photographs are published here, as a matter of policy: nothing is used without the rights holder's permission. The site is text and links to official pages.
Life after racing: where do Japanese racehorses go?
A racehorse spends less of its life racing than not racing. The Retired Horse Association writes that "about 7,000 horses are produced as racehorses every year", and explains that while a horse lives 20 to 30 years, it can only be a racehorse from age two for seven or eight years at most (RHA, "What is a retired horse"). Where it spends the remaining decade and more is the problem of retirement.
1. Going to stud
A colt that wins a graded race or a G1 may go to stud, and a filly may become a broodmare. Only a few make it as stallions: of the 245 horses listed here, 16 have stood at stud. And when a breeding career ends, many horses need a retirement home all over again.
2. Becoming a riding horse
A racehorse cannot simply become a riding horse. A body and temperament built for running flat out have to be remade for carrying a rider at a walk, and that takes retraining. The farms and clubs that do this work are where many horses land.
3. Lead ponies, equestrian sport, horse therapy
The lead pony that heads the parade onto the track is one of the jobs a former racehorse can take. 11 horses are listed here as lead ponies. Others work in equestrian sport, horse therapy or riding lessons.
4. Kept as a meritorious horse
There are also schemes for horses that simply retire. Under the Retired Horse Association's foster parent programme, horses owned by the association are kept for life as "foster horses", funded by many people through membership fees, donations and grants (RHA, "What is a retired horse").
Public funding exists too. The Meritorious Horse Keeping Support Programme is run by the Japan Association for International Racing and Stud Book (JAIRS); it was renamed in 2025 from the former "Retired Champion Horse Keeping and Display Programme". Eligible horses must have won a JRA graded race or a dirt graded race in regional racing, must have had their registration cancelled, and must be at least ten years old during the grant period (JAIRS, 2026 grant applications). In other words, a horse that never won a graded race falls outside this scheme.
5. The horses that fit none of the above
On its "What is a retired horse" page, the Retired Horse Association writes that, after a change of use, "not a few horses end up fattened and slaughtered, including for meat". That is why support and visits feed directly into the economics of retirement: going to see a horse is itself a way of paying for its keep.
How to find out where a horse is, yourself
If you want to track a horse through published information, it comes down to four places.
- Racehorse Hometown Information Centre: the booking desk for farm visits, searchable by horse name
- Meritorious Horse Keeping Support Programme (meiba.jp): subsidised horses and where you can see them
- Retired Horse Association (RHA): news on foster horses and a list of the farms that keep them
- The official sites and social accounts of the farms themselves: roster pages, visiting guidance, death notices
The trouble is that all four are organised by organisation, not by horse. This site cross-checks them one horse at a time so you can start from a name.
Breakdown of the 245 horses listed
These numbers come from opening the farm pages and official social accounts for all 245 horses, one at a time. They are not every retired racehorse in Japan, only the ones whose location is confirmed with a source.
| Horses listed | 245 horses across 29 prefectures and 90 farms or facilities |
|---|---|
| Region | Hokkaido and Tohoku 140 / Kanto and Chubu 45 / Kansai and west 60 |
| Visiting | No reservation needed 64 / reservation required 154 / conditional 6 / closed or paused 5 / not confirmed 8 |
| Ways to support | Foster schemes 124 / membership 143 / donations 111 / merchandise 133 |
| Last confirmed | 4 horses on October 4, 2026, 4 horses on October 3, 2026, 4 horses on October 2, 2026, and more |
Dates are never bumped for horses we could not confirm. Old information is left looking old.
Retired racehorses you can visit
64 horses live at farms that take visitors without a reservation; 154 can be met if you book or call ahead. A farm is where horses live, not a tourist attraction. The Retired Horse Association states that a reservation is always required before visiting a farm that keeps one of its foster horses (notice on farm visits). The Hidaka Subprefectural Bureau of Hokkaido likewise asks visitors to contact the Racehorse Hometown Information Centre before going to see a retired champion (farm visit rules and manners).
Retired racehorses you can visit without a reservation64 horsesRetired racehorses you can visit by reservation154 horsesHow to support a retired racehorse
Keeping a horse costs money every month, for years. There are five main ways in.
- Foster schemes: many people share the cost of one horse (124 of the horses listed here)
- Membership: join an organisation that funds upkeep (143 horses)
- Donations: giving directly to an organisation or farm (111 horses)
- Buying merchandise: proceeds go towards upkeep (133 horses)
- Visiting: admission and farm-shop spending become income (224 horses accept visitors, with or without a reservation or under conditions)
Which of these is available differs by horse. Each horse's page lists the published options and the official links.
Browse by farm
Facilities with three or more horses listed here.
Yogibo Versailles Resort FarmHokkaido／41 horsesNorthern Horse ParkHokkaido／15 horsesOld Friends Japan (Hiruzen Horse Park)Okayama／14 horsesHorse Trust HokkaidoHokkaido／14 horsesHorse TrustKagoshima／13 horsesGeo Farm HachimantaiIwate／8 horsesCalm Days FarmHokkaido／6 horsesMetasequoia to Uma no MoriShiga／6 horsesUrakawa Yushun Village AERUHokkaido／5 horsesRiding Club EgretChiba／5 horsesWatanabe FarmHokkaido／5 horsesMTH CairnsHokkaido／4 horsesTCC Therapy ParkShiga／4 horsesNorthern LakeHokkaido／3 horsesAshizuri Daddy FarmKochi／3 horsesShadai FarmHokkaido／3 horsesConnect FarmHokkaido／3 horsesHorse Friend FarmHokkaido／3 horsesBrowse by region
Retired racehorses in Hokkaido120 horsesRetired racehorses in Aomori3 horsesRetired racehorses in Iwate9 horsesRetired racehorses in Fukushima6 horsesRetired racehorses in Ibaraki8 horsesRetired racehorses in Tochigi5 horsesRetired racehorses in Chiba17 horsesRetired racehorses in Tokyo3 horsesRetired racehorses in Nagano4 horsesRetired racehorses in Shiga10 horsesRetired racehorses in Okayama15 horsesRetired racehorses in Kochi6 horsesRetired racehorses in Kagoshima17 horsesBrowse by racing background
Life after racing for G1 winners47 horsesLife after racing for regional (NAR) horses44 horsesRetired racehorses working as lead ponies11 horsesRetired racehorses who became stallions16 horsesFrequently asked questions
Can I go and meet a retired racehorse?
Some of them, yes. Of the 245 horses listed here, 64 can be visited without a reservation and 154 with a booking or a call ahead. But a farm is where horses live, not a tourist attraction. Conditions differ from farm to farm, so each horse's page reproduces the published guidance as it stands.
How do you work out where a horse is now?
By cross-checking the Retired Horse Association, TCC Japan, the Meritorious Horse Keeping Support Programme (meiba.jp) and the Racehorse Hometown Information Centre against the official sites and social accounts of the farms themselves. The date of confirmation is recorded for each horse, and horses that could not be confirmed keep their old date. A horse can remain on a farm's roster page after it has died, so being listed is never treated as proof that a horse is alive.
What if the information is out of date or wrong?
Every horse's page shows the date its location was confirmed and all the source URLs used. If the official page behind a link is newer, the official page is right. Differences that come to light are corrected at the next update.
About this site
Researched and edited by Horudan, who writes about the business and money of racing on note. Because what happens to a horse after retirement is scattered across one organisation after another, I started building an index I could search by name.
How the data is gathered and what gets listedWhich sources are used, what is left out, how updates workFind your horse with the quizFour questions, six different angles, one horse to followYour favourite retired racehorsesThe horses you starred and what they say about your taste (saved on this device only)