JRA Special Award

The JRA Special Award is an award issued by the Japan Racing Association (JRA). Unlike most awards issued by the JRA, it is not awarded every year and is only awarded when there is a subject that deserves special recognition in a given year. While the main recipients are racehorses, it is occasionally awarded to individuals, such as in 2024, when Yutaka Take received the award for reaching 4,500 JRA wins in his jockey career. Equine recipients of the JRA Special Award must be selected by at least three-quarters of the selection committee and also must be approved by the chairman of the JRA, while human recipients are awarded only by the chairman of the JRA.[1]

The predecessor of the Special Award was the Popularity Award, which was won by Haiseiko in 1973 when the JRA Awards were known as the Yūshun Awards. Later, in 1978, Ten Point received it as a Media Award, and Monte Prince in 1982 received the Dream Award. The name "Special Award" was first used when Amber Shadai was given the award in 1983. It was succeeded by the JRA Awards in 1987. In 2004, it was given the unique subtitle of "Special Fighting Award" when it was awarded to Cosmo Bulk.[2]

Recipients during the Yūshun Awards era

Year Recipient Sex Age Reason Breeder Trainer Owner Jockey(s)
1973 Haiseiko Stallion 4 Responsible for the first horse racing boom in Japan, which became known as the "Haiseiko Boom" due to his popularity. Takeda Ranch Katsutaro Suzuki Horseman Club Sueo Masuzawa
1978 Ten Point Stallion 6 In response to his death which was caused by a fracture during the Nihon Keizai Shinshun Hai. After fracturing his leg, Ten Point underwent 43 days of treatment before his death. Yoshida Ranch Sasuke Ogawa Hisanari Takada Akira Shikato
1982 Monte Prince Stallion 6 Monte Prince became known as the "uncrowned emperor" due to him placing in the top three of four of Japan's Eight Major Races. In 1982, he won the Tennō Shō (Spring) and the Takarazuka Kinen, his first wins which were a part of the Eight Major Races. Kineusu Saito Farm Kichisaburo Matsuyama Kihachi Mori Masato Yoshinaga
1983 Amber Shadai Stallion 7 In 1983, Amber Shadai won the Tennō Shō in his fifth try. Shadai Farm Toshio Nihonyanagi Yoshida Yoshiya Kazuhiro Kato

Recipients since 1989

Racehorses

Year Recipient Sex Age Reason Breeder Trainer Owner Jockey(s)
1989 Oguri Cap[3] Stallion 5 A week after winning the Mile Championship, Oguri Cap came second in the Japan Cup with a time equal to the speed record for the race. Inaba Bokujo Tsutomu Setoguchi Toshinori Kondo Katsumi Minami
1993 Tokai Teio[3] Stallion 6 In 1993, Tokai Teio won his first G1 race in 363 days, the Arima Kinen, after suffering from impairments such as fractures, parasites and injuries to the gluteus medius. Nagahama Ranch Shoichi Matsumoto Masanori Uchimura Seiki Tabara
1995 Rice Shower[3] Stallion 7 In 1995, Rice shower won the Tennō Shō after disappointing race performances for the last two years. However, in his next race, the Takarazuka Kinen, he dislocated his first left knuckle and suffered a communited fracture during the race and had to be euthanised behind a curtain on the track itself. Utopia Ranch Koji Iizuka Hideo Kuriyabashi Hitoshi Matoba
1998 Silence Suzuka[3] Stallion 5 Silence Suzuka won six consecutive races until he was injured and had to be euthanised in the Autumn Tennō Shō. Inahara Farm Mitsuru Hashida Keiji Nagai Yutaka Take
1999 Grass Wonder[3] Stallion 5 In 1999, Grass Wonder won both Grand Prix races (the Arima Kinen and Takarazuka Kinen). Philip Slacing Partnership & John Phillips Mitsuhiro Ogata Hanzawa Co., Ltd. Hitoshi Matoba
Special Week[3] Stallion 5 Special Week won both Tennō Shōs (Spring and Autumn) in 1999. Hidaka Taiyo Farm Toshiaki Shirai Hiroyoshi Usuda Yutaka Take
2001 Stay Gold[3] Stallion 7 Stay Gold was the first Japanese racehorse to win an overseas G1 race (the Hong Kong Vase). Shiraoi Farm Yasuro Ikee Shadai Racehorse Co. Yutaka Take
2004 Cosmo Bulk[2] Stallion 3 Despite being an NAR horse, Cosmo Bulk ran well in JRA races such as the Satsuki Shō and the Japan Cup, finishing second in both races. Kano Ranch Kazunori Tabe Misako Okada Fuyuki Igarashi
2007 Vodka[3] Mare 3 Vodka was the first mare to win the Japanese Derby in 64 years. Country Ranch Katsuhiko Sumii Yuzo Tanimizu Hirofumi Shii
Meisho Samson[3] Stallion 4 Meisho Samson won both Tennō Shōs in 2007. Hayashi Koki Farm Naritada Takahashi Yoshio Matsumoto Yutaka Take

Mamoru Ishibashi

2009 Company[3] Stallion 8 Company was the first 8-year-old horse to win a G1 flat race in Japan. Northern Farm Hidetaka Otonashi Eiko Kondo Norihiro Yokoyama
2016 Maurice[4] Stallion 5 Maurice achieved three G1 victories in 2016, with two of these being in Hong Kong. Togawa Ranch Noriyuki Hori Kazumi Yoshida João Moreira

Ryan Moore

2020 Chrono Genesis[5] Mare 4 Chrono Genesis won both Grand Prix races in 2020. Northern Farm Takashi Saito Sunday Racing Co., Ltd. Yuichi Kitamura
2023 Ushba Tesoro[6] Stallion 6 Ushba Tesoro was the second Japanese horse to win the Dubai World Cup (the first one on dirt surface). Chiyoda Farm Noboru Takagi Ryotokuji Kenji Holdings Co., Ltd. Kazuo Yokoyama

Yuga Kawada

2024 Forever Young[7] Stallion 3 In 2024, Forever Young won four graded races in Japan and internationally, and came third in the 2024 Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic. Northern Farm Yoshito Yahagi Susuma Fujita Ryusei Sakai
2025 Calandagan[8] Gelding 4 In 2025, Calandagan was the first foreign horse to win the Japan Cup in 20 years. Aga Khan Studs Scea Francis-Henri Graffard Aga Khan IV Mickael Barzalona

Jockeys and trainers

Year Recipient Profession Reason
1994 Katsumi Minami[3] Jockey Minami was the first jockey to win five G1 races in one year.
2007 Yutaka Take[3] Jockey Take was the first Japanese jockey to win 3,000 races in his career.
2013 Yutaka Take[3] Jockey Take was the first Japanese jockey to win 3,500 races and 100 G1 races in his career.
2016 Shigefumi Kumazawa[4] Jockey Kumazawa was active in both flat and steeplechase racing for many years.
2018 Yutaka Take[9] Jockey Take was the first Japanese jockey to win 4,000 races in his career.
2020 Kazuo Fujisawa[5] Trainer Fujisawa was the second trainer in history to achieve 1,500 wins in JRA races.
2022 Yoshitomi Shibata[10] Jockey Shibata was the first active JRA jockey to receive the Medal with Yellow Ribbon for his contributions to JRA horse racing and the livestock industry.
2024 Yutaka Take[1] Jockey In 2024, Take was the second active JRA jockey to receive the Medal with Yellow Ribbon and became the first jockey in Japan to achieve 4,500 career wins.
2025 Norihiro Yokoyama[11] Jockey Yokoyama was the third active JRA jockey to receive the Medal with Yellow Ribbon.

References

  1. ^ a b "Yutaka Take awarded with JRA Special Award as the first jockey to pass 4500 wins mark | Horse Racing News". netkeiba. Retrieved 2026-01-12.
  2. ^ a b "2004 JRA Award and NAR Grand Prix Winners" (PDF). Japan Racing Journal. 13 (1): 8. March 2005 – via Horse Racing in Japan.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "JRA賞　バックナンバー　JRA". jra.jp. Retrieved 2026-01-16.
  4. ^ a b "2016 JRA Awards｜JRA Awards & NAR Grand Prix｜Horse Racing in Japan". Horse Racing in Japan. Retrieved 2026-01-12.
  5. ^ a b "2020 JRA Awards｜JRA Awards & NAR Grand Prix｜Horse Racing in Japan". Horse Racing in Japan. Retrieved 2026-01-12.
  6. ^ "2023 JRA Awards｜JRA Awards & NAR Grand Prix｜Horse Racing in Japan". Horse Racing in Japan. Retrieved 2026-01-12.
  7. ^ "2024 JRA Awards｜JRA Awards & NAR Grand Prix｜Horse Racing in Japan". Horse Racing in Japan. Retrieved 2026-01-12.
  8. ^ "2026.01.06 Winners of the 2025 JRA Awards announced - News - Horse Racing in Japan". japanracing.jp. Retrieved 2026-01-12.
  9. ^ "2018 JRA Awards｜JRA Awards & NAR Grand Prix｜Horse Racing in Japan". Horse Racing in Japan. Retrieved 2026-01-12.
  10. ^ "2022 JRA Awards｜JRA Awards & NAR Grand Prix｜Horse Racing in Japan". Horse Racing in Japan. Retrieved 2026-01-12.
  11. ^ "JRA Special Award (Jockey Division) goes to Norihiro Yokoyama for the first time | Horse Racing News". netkeiba. Retrieved 2026-01-12.
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