The birth of a world

It was so quiet that only the hum of the air conditioner could be heard.

Apart from that, the only added sounds were the clinks of glasses against the table as Ogawa and Kimura drank.

"Well, that really would be something."

Mr. Kimura was the first to break the silence with that remark.

The explanation continued from there: everyone should join not only the club, but the Aima Horse Association as well.

To ensure fairness in horse racing, Central Racing under JRA jurisdiction prohibited individuals without owner qualifications from becoming joint owners by borrowing someone else's name—the practice known as "name lending."

As such, club corporations actually operated as commodity funds, which were generally classified under the law as Type II financial instruments.

First, each club essentially consisted of two corporate entities: an Aima Horse Association corporation and a club corporation.

Contrary to the usual understanding, the Aima Horse Association corporation was the entity responsible for inspecting and purchasing racehorses, soliciting contributions from members, and entering into investment agreements. These agreements were known as silent partnership agreements.

Because an Aima Horse Association corporation operating as a silent partnership did not qualify as an owner under JRA regulations, it could not directly enter its purchased horses in races. Instead, it contributed the racehorses as in-kind assets to a club corporation with owner qualifications, which then registered those horses with the JRA under its own name as their owner.

Meanwhile, the prize money earned by those horses flowed in the opposite direction—

It was first distributed from the club corporation to the Aima Horse Association corporation, which then distributed it to the individual shareholding members.

"Mejiro Trading sounds more like a company that rents out farm equipment than an Aima Horse Association corporation."

Mr. Ogawa drained the sake in his glass and