On November 1, the $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Basic was held in Del Mar, and historical past was made when Perpetually Younger defeated 2024 Basic winner Sierra Leone by half a size to develop into the primary Japanese-bred/Japan-based horse to win North America’s richest race.
The Breeders’ Cup is the premier worldwide horse racing occasion held in america and attracts runners from many various international locations. Japan’s personal worldwide showcase will happen on Sunday, November thirtieth. japan cupshall be held at Tokyo Racecourse. That is the annual excessive level of the Japanese racing calendar, because the Breeders’ Cup is held right here. And for the primary time, America’s Finest Racing shall be on-site protecting your complete race and occasion. Here is what it’s good to know in regards to the Japan Cup.
race:
The Japan Cup shall be held on grass over a distance of two,400 meters, or a few mile and a half. The prize cash is roughly 1.09 billion yen (roughly $7.2 million), which is similar to the Breeders’ Cup Basic.
The race was created by the Japan Racing Affiliation in 1981, three years earlier than the primary Breeders’ Cup occasion. The race is designed to draw worldwide competitors, with invites additionally given to winners of prestigious races from different international locations, with the primary winner coming from Maisie Dorts of america. This filly gained stakes in each New York and California and was recorded by jockey Money Asmussen, the brother of North America’s all-time main coach Steve Asmussen.
International horses gained 9 of the primary 11 Japan Cups, however within the Nineteen Nineties the successful percentages of Japanese-born horses and international invaders started to stage out, and by the mid-2000s, home horses have been successful. There was no worldwide winner of the Japan Cup since 2005. Japanese horses have gained 19 consecutive races.
Runners:
Particularly lately, not many international horses have entered the Japan Cup, and 2025 is more likely to be the identical. Nevertheless, among the many international horses anticipated to take part, it is extremely possible that Europe’s high horse, Calandagan, would be the favourite.
Carandagan entered the Japan Cup after successful three G1 races in England and France, and simply final week was named Cartier Horse of the Yr, Europe’s finest racehorse for 2025. Two of Karandagan’s G1 wins certified him for a first-place prize of about $3.3 million, plus a $3 million bonus for successful the Japan Cup. That is a part of an incentive program by the Japan Racing Affiliation to draw extra worldwide competitors.
All however one of many horses entered on this yr’s Japan Cup have been bred within the host nation, with the exception being the French horse Shin Emperor. The stallion, who does most of his racing in Japan and has made a number of worldwide begins, is owned and skilled by the identical group behind the Perpetually Younger marketing campaign: proprietor Susumu Fujita and coach Yoshito Yahagi. Shin Emperor completed in second place in final yr’s Japan Cup, only a neck behind the winner, after a useless warmth with Durezza. Each of those horses are scheduled to run on Sunday.
observe:
Tokyo Racecourse is Japan’s equal of Churchill Downs. Situated within the western suburbs of Tokyo and simply accessible by public transportation, this venue opened in 1933. Along with the Japan Cup, Tokyo Racecourse hosts the Tokyo Yushun, often known as the Japan Derby, and several other different internationally prestigious races.
A state-of-the-art facility with roughly 8,000 sq. toes of grass, dust and soar (impediment course) programs and video screens. The observe has a children backyard part within the infield that features a number of rides, exhibits and a play space, making it a really family-friendly venue. Slightly below 80,000 followers attended final yr’s Japan Cup, far beneath the spectacular capability of 223,000. The document for attendance for the Japan Cup was 187,524, set in 1995.
weekend:
Your entire weekend held at Tokyo Racecourse, culminating within the Japan Cup, is one in all Japan’s most anticipated and thrilling sporting occasions. On Saturday, November twenty ninth, the Japan Highway to the Kentucky Derby, introduced by Woodford Reserve, will open in Tokyo with qualifying races. The Cattleya Stakes shall be held on dust on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale, with the highest 5 finishers qualifying for the 2026 Churchill Downs Derby. The most effective horse to beat Cattleya and are available to the U.S. is 2015 winner Lani, who completed ninth within the 2016 Derby, fifth within the Preakness Stakes and third within the Belmont Stakes.
There are different large races deliberate, with crowds of round 75,000 to 80,000 anticipated to be in attendance and the environment anticipated to be thrilling.
The place to observe:
U.S. viewers can watch the Japan Cup reside totally free if the FanDuel TV community is included of their cable bundle. Japan Cup submit time is roughly 3:40pm native time, which is 14 hours forward of the US Japanese time zone (1:40am Sunday) and 17 hours forward of the US Pacific time zone (10:40pm Saturday).
The way to observe:
As beforehand talked about, America’s Finest Racing shall be at Tokyo Racecourse and also will be filming across the racetrack to introduce the favored sights to visiting followers. The group arrives on Thursday, November twenty seventh and plans to convey U.S. followers a collection of participating and entertaining episodes that seize the fun of Japanese horse racing and the keenness of its fan base.
Observe America’s Finest Racing’s TikTok and Instagram accounts for full info. The video will even be posted to your Fb and X accounts.
Prepare for an thrilling and memorable 2025 Japan Cup expertise!
