Mr Goto joined Japan Racing Association (JRA) in 1975. He has held management positions including Chief Representative of JRA New York Office, Manager of International Strategic Planning Section, Deputy General Manager of Customer Services Department and General Manager of Corporate Strategies Planning Department before being appointed to the JRA Board of Directors in 2006. During his tenure as a Director, he was responsible for Corporate Planning and Finance. Mr Goto was appointed as the Executive Director in March 2011 and was responsible for Racing Administration Policies, Stable System and Breeding Affairs. In September 2014, he was appointed as the President and CEO of JRA. After serving the position for nine years, he was appointed as Supreme Advisor of JRA in September 2023.

In October 2021, Mr Goto was elected as one of the four Vice Chairs of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities, the world’s highest thoroughbred racing authority.

Throughout his international career and experiences, such as his assignment to the New York Office from 1995 to 1998, he has enhanced the international status of Japanese horse racing. JRA started the international simulcast for the 2016 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and generated a substantial turnover from the race in the Japanese Pool, which was featured worldwide. In the 2017 IFHA International Conference and the 2018 Asian Racing Conference in Seoul, he presented on JRA’s strategy to expand its fan base through international simulcast and how this helps to enhance and promote horse racing.

He is very fond of listening to music from the 1950s to 60s, and his love for the Liverpool Sound, especially The Beatles, is very well known to those in the horse racing circles who have attended the Japan Cup.

Born in October 1951, he lives in Tokyo with his wife. They have two sons.

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