It has been revealed that JRA (Japan Racing Association) jockeys Seina Imamura, Kyosuke Maruta, and Ryuichi Sugawara will appear in the first episode of the TBS Sunday Theater "The Royal Family" (Sundays at 9:00 p.m.), which begins on October 12th.
In his debut year in 2022, Imamura won 51 JRA races and was awarded the JRA Award for Most Wins by a Rookie Jockey. This year, he is in his fourth year as a jockey and achieved a total of 100 wins in both central and local races. "This was my first time appearing in a drama, but I felt that everyone was really cooperating with each and every detail in the filming. I'm really looking forward to making a wonderful production," he said.
Jockey Maruta made his debut in 2007, and in 2022 he became a "G1 jockey" by winning the G1 race, the Takamatsunomiya Kinen. After filming, he said, "We jockeys are helped by horses in our work, so I hope as many people as possible will watch this drama and enjoy it."
Jockey Sugawara appeared in numerous dramas and movies as a child actor when he was young. He has been a jockey for 16 years and is the first JRA jockey to be a former child actor. Sugawara said, "I am very happy that horse racing has been chosen as the subject of a drama, so I hope everyone will watch it."
The drama is based on the novel of the same name by Kazuma Hayami. Eiji Kurisu (played by Satoshi Tsumabuki) has always looked up to his father, who runs a tax accounting firm, but after a certain incident he experiences setbacks in his career and loses all hope. Then, after meeting a horse owner, Kozo Sanno (played by Koichi Sato), his life, which had come to a sudden halt, begins to move forward... This is the story.
