Takashi Takemoto, who had been in a coma since falling from his horse during a steeplechase race last weekend, was pronounced dead Friday due to brain damage. He was 20.
Last Sunday, the rookie jockey was thrown to the ground when his horse attempted to clear an obstacle during the first lap of the fifth race at Nakayama Racecourse in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture.
He was rushed to a hospital. Takemoto's case is the first fatal race accident involving Japan Racing Association jockeys since Junichiro Oka, 24, died in 1993, and the 19th overall since 1954.