Banei racing exists nowhere else in the world. The horses are draft breeds — heavy, powerful, built for pulling rather than speed — and they compete not by running a course but by pulling iron sleds weighing up to a ton through a straight track with two earthen humps. The race is slow. It can take several minutes. The horses sometimes stop. This is the compelling part. A horse that stops, breathing heavily on the second hump with its sled not yet through, and then gathers itself and pushes forward — this moment produces a response from the crowd that straight racing rarely does. The struggle is visible. The effort is audible. The horse is not performing; it is working. Banei racing developed in Hokkaido from the agricultural tradition of using draft horses for farm work, with informal competitions among farmers testing their animals' pulling power. Obihiro's racecourse is the last remaining venue — the other tracks that once hosted banei racing have closed. Coming here is not only watching a race; it is watching the survival of something that has no equivalent and is not being replaced.