Japan Racing Association Hall of Fame

The Horse Racing Hall of Fame (Japanese: 競馬の殿堂) is a Japanese horse racing memorial hall which was installed on September 2, 1985 at the JRA Horse Racing Museum, Fuchu, Tokyo. It was founded by Japan Racing Association to honor the achievements of race horses, jockeys and trainers.

Race horses inducted into the Hall of Fame are called Kensho-ba (顕彰馬) while jockeys and trainer are called Kensho-sha (顕彰者) by the Japan Racing Association.

The selection of a race horse for the Hall of Fame is decided annually by a vote in June. It is voted on by members of the press. Racehorses are inducted into the Hall of Fame if they gather over three-quarters of the total vote.^[1]

The current selection method involves a vote by members of the media and newspaper industry who have been involved in horse racing coverage for over 10 years. Each voter can nominate up to four horses (a "bullet voting" system is used, and "No applicable horse" is also an option). A horse is selected if it receives votes from at least three-quarters (75%) of the total voters. This system has been in place since 2015.

To be eligible, a horse must have been retired from racing (deregistered) for at least one year as of the cutoff date of March 31, but no more than 20 years. Active horses, those retired for less than a year, and those retired for more than 20 years are ineligible.

During this period, the Hall of Fame Selection Committee determined inductees based on the following criteria (requiring three-quarters approval from committee members): Exceptional Racing Record: Generally, horses that won three or more GI-rated heavy stakes races.

-Excellent Racing and Breeding Record: Horses with records similar to the above whose offspring performed exceptionally well (specifically, a sire with five or more GI-winning offspring, or a mare with two or more). -Special Contribution to Central Horse Racing (JRA): Horses that contributed significantly to the development of JRA through international success, record-breaking achievements, popularity, or public impact.

The last horse selected under this system was Taiki Shuttle in 1999. In 1990, a re-evaluation of past horses was conducted, leading to the induction of Ten Point, Kodama, Speed Symboli, and Meiji Hikari. This was largely due to persistent criticism from fans and media regarding the omission of Ten Point (the rival of Tosho Boy, who was inducted at the start), as well as changes in the status of horses due to the success of their offspring.

Notably, horses like Dainana Hoshu, Take Hope, Green Grass, and Fujino O met the criteria but were not inducted. Dainana Hoshu, in particular, was a legendary runner of his era with 23 wins in 29 starts, including three of the "Eight Major Races." Despite being a lock for induction in 1984, he was reportedly blocked by a single committee member who argued that the horse’s small stature lacked the "dignity" required of a Thoroughbred.

In 2001, the system shifted to the current media-based voting format. However, because there was no limit on the number of years since retirement, votes were split between veteran reporters favoring older legends like Takeshiba O and younger reporters pushing for recent stars like El Condor Pasa and Special Week.

In 2003, T.M. Opera O—despite a record-breaking career including a sweep of the Autumn Senior Triple crown and a world-record prize money total—failed to reach the 75% threshold. This caused a massive backlash, with fans flooding the JRA website with protests.

Following the T.M. Opera O controversy, the JRA revised the rules. They noted that as time passes, fewer people remember a horse's live performances and their evaluation as breeding stock becomes fixed. Consequently, eligibility was restricted to horses retired within the last 20 years. Under this method, T.M. Opera O (2004), Deep Impact (2008), and Vodka (2011) were selected.

Starting in 2015, the number of horses a voter could nominate was increased from two to four. According to the JRA, this change aimed to ensure that worthy horses were selected even as votes became fragmented due to the diversification of racing categories (sprints, dirt, etc.).

Since 2015, the following horses have been inducted: Orfevre (2015), Gentildonna (2016), Lord Kanaloa (2018), Kitasan Black (2020), Almond Eye (2023), and both Contrail and King Kamehameha (2024).

In the 2024 vote, eligibility rules were tightened, resulting in many "Associate Members" (former reporters and announcers no longer on the front lines) losing their voting rights. This led to the successful induction of Contrail (86.4%), who had missed by a single vote the previous year, and King Kamehameha (81.3%), who was entering his penultimate year of eligibility. This marked the first time multiple horses were selected in a single year under the 2015 rules.

Special selection methods were implemented for JRA's 50th (2004) and 60th (2014) anniversaries: 2004: To account for the new "20-year rule," a special vote was held for horses retired before 1983. Takeshiba O was selected through this one-time process.

2014: Voters were allowed to nominate up to four horses as a one-time measure, leading to the induction of El Condor Pasa. Despite consistently leading the polls for years, he had previously failed to reach the 75% threshold until this rule change.

The voting process for race horse selection has been called in to question, including by some voters,^[2] in 2022 after no horses gained the required votes to be inducted in to the Hall of Fame, including Almond Eye despite winning 9 Grade 1 races in her career.^[2][3][4] While Almond Eye was ultimately inducted in 2023, during that same voting process Contrail was not selected by 1 less vote, and at least 3 votes were cast to Stay Gold, who was already ineligible due to the retirement rules; leading to more criticism against the voting process.^[5][6]

The jockeys who have shown remarkable activity as well as more than 1000 victories are inducted to hall of Fame. The selection was started in 2004.^[7]

• Youichi Fukunaga (福永洋一 2004)
• Hiroyuki Gohara (郷原洋行 2014)
• Hiroshi Kawachi (河内洋 2014)
• Yuuji Nohira (野平祐二 2004)
• Yukio Okabe (岡部幸雄 2014)
• Masato Shibata (柴田政人 2014)
• Takayoshi Yasuda (保田隆芳 2004)

Trainers who have won more than 1000 races and who have won more than ten times at the eight biggest races: Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby), Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas), Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger), Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks), Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas), Tenno Sho (Spring and Autumn) and Arima Kinen, are inducted to hall of Fame. The selection was started in 2004.^[7]

• Australian Racing Hall of Fame
• Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
• New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame
• United States National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

• Hall of Fame - Japan Racing Association (in Japanese)

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