A Boy Who Ran Away Because He Didn't Want to Ride Horses Debuts as a Rookie at Busan Gyeongnam Racing Park

39th Rookie Class Lee Hong-rak's 'Initiation Ceremony' Held

On the 31st of last month, rookie Lee Hong-rak appeared at the introduction event.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] “Reporting in!”

The rookie initiation ceremony that stirred up the sandy winds of the racetrack at Busan-Gyeongnam Race Park was held on July 31.

The Race Park arranged an event to introduce the new face of BuGyeong jockeys to customers, and the main character was jockey Lee Hong-rak, born in 1997.

Song Dae-young, head of the Korea Racing Authority Busan-Gyeongnam Regional Headquarters, Bae Young-pil, head of Busan Racing Office, Kim Dae-hwan, head of Busan Customer Support Office, Kim Do-hyun, president of the BuGyeong Jockey Association, and Min Jang-gi, president of the BuGyeong Trainer Association, attended to celebrate the rookie jockey’s first step.

Jockey Lee Hong-rak’s parents were also present. Jockey Lee received a commemorative plaque and bouquet celebrating his debut and greeted the racing customers with a strong voice.

The jockey made his debut two days earlier, on July 29, riding ‘Again Helen (Han, Geo, 5 years old)’ in the BuGyeong 4th race (National Grade 6, 1400m). His first result was 5th place. It was a decent result for a debut race.

Although he was hit by sand from the front early in the race and fell to last place, he surged up to 5th place on the straight track.

Jockey Lee Hong-rak did not initially dream of becoming a jockey. He enrolled in a horse-related specialized high school in Gyeongbuk but was a ‘friend’ who ran away because he didn’t want to ride horses.

In his second year, he became friendly with horses and started dreaming of becoming a jockey while raising horses as part of his practical training. Watching the horses he raised run at the racetrack sparked his ‘ambition’ to run alongside them.

His experience at the breeding farm became an advantage in understanding horse behavior. His role model is BuGyeong’s Choi Si-dae jockey, and he said he wants to emulate his senior’s ‘riding skills.’

He said, “I will quickly understand the characteristics of the horse so that it can run without interference during the race. I want to become the best jockey in the country.”

The Busan-Gyeongnam Race Park is promoting videos of jockey Lee Hong-rak’s debut race and interviews through the Korea Racing Authority’s YouTube racing broadcast channel.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.