South Korea will open its first new racecourse in more than two decades on 13 September 2026.

Let’s Run Park Yeongcheon—렛츠런파크 영천—will become the country’s fourth racecourse, joining Seoul, Jeju and Busan–Gyeongnam. The previous addition to the network was Busan–Gyeongnam, which opened in September 2005.

The opening has taken 16 years to reach this point. Yeongcheon was selected as the location for Korea’s fourth racecourse in 2009, but regulatory, financial and construction delays repeatedly moved the expected completion date.

Its first season will be deliberately limited: six races every Sunday for 12 weeks, producing 72 races between September and early December.

That is small compared with the 1,045 races scheduled in Seoul during 2026. But Yeongcheon represents something more significant than an additional racing calendar. It is the first attempt to create a regional racing circuit across two separate venues in South Korea.

Yeongcheon will not initially operate with a completely independent population of horses, trainers and jockeys.

Instead, the Korea Racing Authority—한국마사회, or KRA—will connect it with Let’s Run Park Busan–Gyeongnam as a single racing region. Horses based at Busan–Gyeongnam will be transported approximately 100 kilometres to Yeongcheon for selected Sunday meetings.

Korea calls this model 순회경마, meaning rotational or circuit racing.

The arrangement allows KRA to activate a new venue without immediately duplicating the entire racing infrastructure already established in Busan. It also introduces logistical complexity: horses, personnel and equipment must travel between the two racecourses while maintaining consistent veterinary, integrity and broadcast standards.

KRA has already conducted mock races using horses transported from Busan–Gyeongnam to test the track, starting systems, veterinary procedures and race-day operations.

The first season will therefore serve as a live operational trial as much as a commercial launch.

KRA has committed ₩185.7 billion—approximately US$124 million—to the first phase of the Yeongcheon project.

The development covers around 660,000 square metres and includes two tracks, a grandstand, stables, veterinary facilities, parking and a waterside public park. A planned second phase would add further leisure and tourism facilities, bringing KRA’s total projected investment to ₩305.7 billion, or roughly US$204 million.

This mixed-use design reflects how KRA positions its racecourses. They are not marketed exclusively as betting venues, but as weekend leisure parks offering family activities, festivals and public spaces alongside legal pari-mutuel wagering.

Nevertheless, betting remains the economic engine.

South Korean horse-race wagering is controlled by KRA, a state-run public corporation operating under specific legislation. Bets placed on Yeongcheon races will feed into the same national system used for racing at Seoul, Jeju and Busan–Gyeongnam.

For North Gyeongsang Province, the most immediate attraction is tax revenue.

South Korea applies a local leisure tax—레저세—to betting turnover. Provincial authorities estimate that Yeongcheon’s first 72 races could generate between ₩10.8 billion and ₩14 billion, approximately US$7.2–9.3 million, in leisure-tax revenue before the end of 2026.

Those figures are projections, not guaranteed income. They depend on actual betting turnover and on a previously agreed tax reduction intended to support the project.

The venue is also expected to create demand for race-day staff, transport, veterinary services, broadcasting, security, customer operations and equipment. KRA recruited 89 support workers ahead of the opening, primarily for ticketing, customer assistance and crowd management.

But many of the larger construction and equipment contracts have already been awarded or have closed. KRA has recently listed further procurement plans for Yeongcheon, although these should not be treated as open opportunities until formal tenders, deadlines and participation conditions are published.

The central question is not whether Yeongcheon can stage 72 races.

It is whether the new racecourse can attract additional spectators and betting activity without simply shifting turnover from Busan–Gyeongnam or KRA’s off-course and online channels.

The rotational model must also prove that transporting horses and personnel between venues is sustainable. If operating costs are too high, or participation creates excessive disruption for Busan-based racing teams, expansion could become difficult.

KRA currently expects Yeongcheon’s schedule to grow after the trial season, potentially reaching 120 races in 2027 and 180 in 2028.

That would transform Yeongcheon from a limited regional experiment into a permanent component of Korea’s betting market.

After 16 years of planning, South Korea finally has its fourth racecourse. Opening the gates will be the easy part. The real test is whether Yeongcheon can create new demand rather than divide the market that already exists.

East Asia Reports
Web: eastasiareports.com · Email: [email protected]
Author — Adrià Mas Rodríguez