Japanese Best Dirt Horse is a title awarded annually by the Japan Racing Association (JRA) to an outstanding horse of that category in horse racing in Japan. Since 1987 the honor has been part of the JRA Awards.
Records Most successful horse (2 wins): Wing Arrow – 1998, 2000 Admire Don – 2003, 2004 Kane Hekili – 2005, 2008 Espoir City – 2009, 2010 Lemon Pop – 2023, 2024
Leading trainer (2 wins): Katsumi Minai – Wing Arrow (1998, 2000) Hiroyoshi Matsuda – Admire Don (2003, 2004) Sei Ishizaka – Alondite (2006), Vermilion (2007) Katsuhiko Sumii - Kane Hekili (2005, 2008) Akio Adachi – Espoir City (2009, 2010) Kunihide Matsuda – Kurofune (2001), Belshazzar (2013) Hiroyasu Tanaka – Lemon Pop (2023, 2024)
Leading owner (4 wins): Makoto Kaneko – Wing Arrow (2000), Kurofune (2001), Kane Hekili (2005, 2008)
Winners Year Horse Trainer Owner Age1987No Award1988No Award1989Dyna LetterToshio Nihon'yanagiShadai Racing51990Caribbean SongOsamu Kato HajimeOgifuji Ranch41991Narita FalconKentaro NakaoHidenori Yamaji41992No Award1993Meisho HomuraTakahashi ShigetadaYoshio Matsumoto51994Fujino Makken OYoshio NakamuraHiroshi Nakamura31995Lively MountFujio ShibataTetsuro Kato41996Hokuto VegaTakao NakanoKanamori Shoji Mori61997No Award1998Wing ArrowKatsumi MinaiMinoru Ikeda31999No Award2000Wing ArrowKatsumi MinaiMakoto Kaneko52001KurofuneKunihide MatsudaMakoto Kaneko52002Gold AllureYasutoshi IkeeShadai Racing42003Admire DonHiroyoshi MatsudaRiichi Kondo42004Admire DonHiroyoshi MatsudaRiichi Kondo52005Kane HekiliKatsuhiko SumiiMakoto Kaneko32006AlonditeSei IshizakaCarrot Farm Co.32007VermilionSei IshizakaSunday Racing52008Kane HekiliKatsuhiko SumiiMakoto Kaneko62009Espoir CityAkio AdachiYushun Horse42010Espoir CityAkio AdachiYushun Horse52011TranscendYasuda TakayukiKoji Maeda52012Nihonpiro OursYuki OhashiHyakutaro Kobayashi52013BelshazzarKunihide MatsudaShadai Race Horse52014Hokko TarumaeKatsuichi NishiuraMichiaki Yabe52015Copano RickeyAkira MurayamaSachiaki Kobayashi52016Sound TrueNoboru TakagiHiroshi Yamada62017Gold DreamOsamu HirataKatsumi Yoshida42018Le Vent Se LeveKiyoshi HagiwaraG1 Racing32019ChrysoberylHidetaka OtonashiCarrot Farm32020Chuwa WizardRyuji OkuboShinobu Nakanishi52021T O KeynesDaisuke TakayanagiTomoya Ozasa42022Cafe PharoahNoriyuki HoriKoichi NIshikawa52023Lemon PopHiroyasu TanakaGodolphin52024Lemon PopHiroyasu TanakaGodolphin62025Forever YoungYoshito YahagiSusumu Fujita4
References
Horse racing in Japan: JRA Awards