The Japan Racing Association (JRA) announced that short-term riding jockey's licenses have been issued to Hong Kong-based riders, Douglas Whyte and Karis Teetan.

Teetan’s short-term riding license is effective from July 16 to July 31, 2016, while Whyte’s license is from July 16 to August 14.

Whyte, 44, will be primarily riding for owner, Katsumi Yoshida, and his host trainer, Yasutoshi Ikee of JRA Ritto Training Center, while Teetan, 26, will mainly be riding for owner, Kazuko Yoshida, and his host trainer, Noriyuki Hori of JRA Miho Training Center.

Teetan, a native of Mauritius, finished third in this season’s Hong Kong jockey rankings and will be riding in Japan for the first time.

Whyte, a leading jockey in Hong Kong for 13 seasons, will be riding in Japan under a short-term license for the first time in 6 years. The South African native has an overall record of 50 wins from 316 rides in JRA races. 

The Japan Racing Association (JRA) also announced that a short-term riding jockey's license will be issued to New Zealand jockey, Mark Du Plessis.

This short-term riding license is effective from July 5 to July 26, 2016.

Du Plessis, 40, will be primarily riding for owner, Yu Hirai, and his host trainer, Katsuhiko Sumii of JRA Ritto Training Center.

Since the beginning of May, Du Plessis has been riding in Japan under his first short-term license from JRA, which expired on July 4. Thus far, he has notched 4 wins from 94 rides in JRA races.