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SARGA.CO – Horse racing in Indonesia is enjoying an unprecedented boom, with crowds flocking to racecourses and prize horse prices reaching record highs. At the Indonesia Horse Racing (IHR) Derby 2025 in Bantul, Yogyakarta, held on Sunday, July 27, the surge in public interest signaled a golden age for the equestrian sport.
Presidential Influence Spurs a Racing Renaissance
According to Aryo P.S. Djojohadikusumo, Chairman of the Indonesian Equestrian Sports Federation (PP PORDASI), the sport’s meteoric rise is due in part to the influence of President Prabowo Subianto, a known horse enthusiast.
“Every year, the crowd grows. Having a president who genuinely loves horses is a massive boost,” Aryo said.
“The potential is limitless. If races on Java already draw such numbers, imagine what we can achieve in other regions.”
Racehorse Prices Skyrocket
This soaring popularity has had a direct impact on the market. Young champion-caliber horses now command prices above IDR 500 million (~USD 30,000), with proven winners fetching upwards of IDR 1 billion (~USD 60,000).
“It’s gotten so popular that buying a good racehorse is tough. In North Sulawesi, I couldn’t even find one available,” Aryo explained.
“Even in Java, prices are soaring.”
The growth isn't just happening at the tracks. Horse racing is exploding in the digital space:
YouTube livestreams once drew 1,500–2,000 viewers per race; now they reach over 8,000.
Annual audience numbers have more than doubled from 50,000 to 110,000.
On TikTok, racing clips have gone viral, garnering 1.5 million views per video and a cumulative reach of 7–8 million views.
While IHR events are currently held in Java, Aryo emphasized that the strongest enthusiasm is coming from regions outside the island. In Aceh, horse racing during the National Sports Week (PON) in Takengon drew a staggering 120,000 spectators, becoming the most-watched event of the games.
Meanwhile, in Sumbawa, traditional horse racing remains vibrant, with hundreds of horses racing weekly, often ridden by young jockeys aged 10–11.
“Horse racing may even surpass football in popularity,” Aryo said with a smile. “Football can naturalize players — in racing, we naturalize the horses. But our jockeys? They’ll always be proudly Indonesian.”
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