The Yasuda Kinen (English: Yasuda Memorial, Japanese and Chinese language: 安田記念) is a Japanese International Grade I

Thoroughbred horse race Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

held at the

Tokyo Racecourse is located in Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan. Built in 1933 for horse racing, it is considered the "racecourse of racecourses" in Japanese horseracing. It has a capacity of 223,000, with seating for 13,750. Tokyo Racecourse hosts numerous G1 (Grade 1) r ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. Raced annually each June, the Yasuda Kinen is run at a distance of eight furlongs (one mile) on

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricult ...

and is open to horses three years of age and up. The event was first run in 1951 as the Yasuda Sho in honor of Izaemon Yasuda, the founding chairman of the

Japan Racing Association The Japan Racing Association ( ja, 日本中央競馬会 Nippon Chūō Keiba Kai, or JRA) is a public company established to operate Chūō Keiba (中央競馬 Central horse racing) and to manage racecourses, betting facilities, and horse-training ...

. Following the death of Mr. Yasuda, in 1958 the race name was changed to the Yasuda Kinen. In 1984 the race was promoted to Grade 1 status and in 1993 it was granted International Grade 1 status. In 2005, the race became the final leg of the

Asian Mile Challenge The Asian Mile Challenge is a series of four one-mile (eight furlongs) Thoroughbred horse races. Created in 2005, the series was launched with two races, one in Hong Kong, the other in Japan. In 2006, the Melbourne Racing Club of Australia and the ...

. In addition to the US$1 million first place purse, another US$1 million bonus is given to any horse who wins two legs of the four-race Asian Mile Challenge. Past winners of the Yasuda Kinen include

Oguri Cap Oguri Cap (Japanese : オグリキャップ, 27 March 1985 – 3 July 2010) was a Japanese thoroughbred racehorse, sired by Dancing Cap. Oguri Cap was inducted into the Japan Racing Association Hall of Fame in 1991. Racing career In May 1987 ...

and Taiki Shuttle, both Horse of the Year honorees in Japan in 1990 and 1998 respectively. As well, the race has been won by international horses such as the Godolphin 1995 winner Heart Lake, and Fairy King Prawn who in 2000 became the first

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

-trained horse to ever win a Grade I race outside of Hong Kong. In 2006 another Hong Kong-owned champion,

Bullish Luck Bullish Luck ({{zh, c=牛精福星) (foaled 1999) is a Hong Kong based Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred in Kentucky, he is the son of the 1990 Breeders' Cup Mile winner Royal Academy and out of the Alysheba mare Wild Vintage. He was sold by his b ...

, won the race and earned the Asian Mile Challenge bonus money for winning both the Yasuda Kinen and the Champions Mile in Hong Kong.

Winners since 1984

Earlier winners

* 1951 - Issei * 1952 - Swee Sue * 1953 - Swee Sue * 1954 - Fuso * 1955 - Kuri Chikara * 1956 - Yoshifusa * 1957 - Hekiraku * 1958 - Rhapsody * 1959 - Hishi Masaru * 1960 - Onward Bell * 1961 - Homareboshi * 1962 - Tokon * 1963 - Yamano O * 1964 - Shimofusa Homare * 1965 - Panasonic * 1966 - Hishi Masahide * 1967 - Buchan * 1968 - Shesquay * 1969 - Hard Way * 1970 - Mejiro Asama * 1971 - Harbor Game * 1972 - Rafale * 1973 - Haku Hosho * 1974 - Kyoei Green * 1975 - Sakura Iwai * 1976 - Nishiki Ace * 1977 - Squash Tholon * 1978 - Nippo King * 1979 - Royal Shinzan * 1980 - Blue Hallez * 1981 - Takeden * 1982 - Sweet Native * 1983 - Kiyo Hidaka

References

Racing Post ''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing and sports betting publisher which is published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of 6 ...

: **, , , , , , , , , ** , , , , , , , , , ** , , , , , , , ,

External links

Horse Racing in Japan
{{Japanese Grade I horse races Open mile category horse races Horse races in Japan Turf races in Japan

Winners since 1984

Earlier winners

See also

References

External links