Nikkei Sho
.jpg) 2012 Nikkei Sho | |
| Class | Grade 2 |
|---|---|
| Location | Nakayama Racecourse |
| Race type | Thoroughbred Flat racing |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 2500 metres |
| Surface | Turf |
| Track | Right-handed |
| Qualification | 4-y-o+ |
| Weight | Special Weight |
| Purse | ¥ 145,220,000 (as of 2026)
|
The Nikkei Sho (Japanese 日経賞) is an annual Grade 2 flat horse race in Japan for Thoroughbreds of at least four years of age. It is run over a distance of 2,500 metres at Nakayama Racecourse in March.[1]
The Nikkei Sho was first run in 1953 and was elevated to Grade 2 status in 1984. The award money is donated by Nikkei Inc, a newspaper company headquartered in Tokyo and Osaka.
Some of the race's most notable winners include Symboli Rudolf, Rice Shower, Meisho Doto, Matsurida Gogh, Fenomeno and Gold Actor.
History
The race was established in 1953 as a Jūshō ("Big race", 重賞) for horses aged 5 years or older (now 4 years or older) under the name "Nihon Keizai Sho" (日本経済賞), or "Japan Economic Award".[a][2] It was renamed in 1979.[3][1]
The inaugural race was held over 3200m on turf, at Nakayama Racecourse, but the venue, distance, and time of year have undergone several changes, with the distance settling at 2500m on turf, the same course as the Arima Kinen, since 1967.[4] The race has been held at Nakayama during the March-April season since 1984.[4] Today, it is one of two preliminary races for the Tennō Shō (Spring); since 2014, the winner of the Nikkei Sho has been granted priority entry.[5]
Foreign-bred horses have been allowed to participate since 1989, and horses belonging to local racetracks since 1995. In 2002, it become an international race, in which foreign-trained horses can also participate.[1]
Race details
The race is run at Nakayama Racecourse over a distance of 2,500 meters on turf, using the right-handed (clockwise) inner curve.
Weight Requirements
56 kg for four-year-olds, and 57 kg for five-year-olds and above.[6]
Allowances:
2 kg for fillies / mares
- 1 kg for southern hemisphere-bred three-year-olds
Penalties:
- If a graded stakes race has been won within a year, 2 kg for a Grade 1 win (1 kg for fillies / mares), 1 kg for a Grade 2 win
- If a graded stakes race has been won for more than a year (excluding two-year-old race performance), 1 kg for a Grade 1 win
Winners since 2000
| Year |
Winner |
Age |
Jockey |
Trainer |
Owner | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Leo Ryuho | 5 | Takanori Kikuzawa | Hiroaki Sugiura | Leo | 2:35.4 |
| 2001 | Meisho Doto | 5 | Yasuhiko Yasuda | Isao Yasuda | Yoshio Matsumoto | 2:33.7 |
| 2002 | Active Bio | 5 | Hiroki Goto | Hiroki Sakiyama | Bio | 2:37.0 |
| 2003 | Ingrandire | 4 | Junichi Kobayashi | Yoshinami Shimizu | Chizu Yoshida | 2:31.3 |
| 2004 | Win Generale | 4 | Masayoshi Ebina | Sakae Kunieda | WIN | 2:32.8 |
| 2005 | Yukina Sun Royal | 8 | Jiro Ono | Sueo Masuzawa | Motoyuki Ito | 2:33.3 |
| 2006 | Lincoln | 6 | Norihiro Yokoyama | Hidetaka Otonashi | Eiko Kondo | 2:33.0 |
| 2007 | Never Bouchon | 4 | Hiroshi Kitamura | Masanori Ito | T H | 2:31.8 |
| 2008 | Matsurida Gogh | 5 | Masayoshi Ebina | Sakae Kunieda | Fumie Takahashi | 2:32.7 |
| 2009 | Al Nasrain | 5 | Masayoshi Ebina | Shigeki Matsumoto | Sunday Racing | 2:31.2 |
| 2010 | Meiner Kitz | 7 | Masami Matsuoka | Sakae Kunieda | Thoroughbred Club Ruffian | 2:34.1 |
| 2011 | To The Glory [1] | 4 | Yuichi Fukunaga | Yasutoshi Ikee | Carrot Farm | 2:25.4 |
| 2012 | Neko Punch | 6 | Teruo Eda | Shinobu Hoshino | Shigeru Kiritani | 2:37.4 |
| 2013 | Fenomeno | 4 | Masayoshi Ebina | Hirofumi Toda | Sunday Racing | 2:32.0 |
| 2014 | Win Variation | 6 | Yasunari Iwata | Masahiro Matsunaga | WIN | 2:34.4 |
| 2015 | Admire Deus | 4 | Yasunari Iwata | Mitsuru Hashida | Riichi Kondo | 2:30.2 |
| 2016 | Gold Actor | 5 | Hayato Yoshida | Tadashige Nakagawa | Kaname Ishiro | 2:36.8[7] |
| 2017 | Sciacchetra | 4 | Hironobu Tanabe | Katsuhiko Sumii | Makoto Kaneko | 2:32.8[8] |
| 2018 | Ganko | 5 | Yusuke Fujioka | Shigeki Matsumoto | Mitsuo Sugisawa | 2:33.9[9] |
| 2019 | Meisho Tekkon | 4 | Yutaka Take | Yoshitada Takahashi | Yoshio Matsumoto | 2:34.2 |
| 2020 | Mikki Swallow | 6 | Norihiro Yokoyama | Takanori Kikuzawa | Mizuki Noda | 2:32.9 |
| 2021 | Win Marilyn | 4 | Takeshi Yokoyama | Takahisa Tezuka | WIN | 2:33.3 |
| 2022 | Titleholder | 4 | Kazuo Yokoyama | Toru Kurita | Hiroshi Yamada | 2:35.4 |
| 2023 | Titleholder | 5 | Kazuo Yokoyama | Toru Kurita | Hiroshi Yamada | 2:36.8 |
| 2024 | Struve | 5 | Katsuma Sameshima | Noriyuki Hori | Katsuko Muraki | 2:31.4 |
| 2025 | Meiner Emperor | 5 | Yuji Tannai | Hisashi Shimizu | Thoroughbred Club Ruffian | 2:36.1 |
| 2026 | My Universe | 4 | Norihiro Yokoyama | Koshiro Take | Toshio Terada | 2:30.7 |
1 The 2011 race took place at Hanshin Racecourse over a distance of 2,400 metres.
Earlier winners
- 1953 - Takahata
- 1954 - Fuso
- 1955 - Kuri Chikara
- 1956 - Fukriyu
- 1957 - Haku Chikara
- 1958 - Onward There
- 1959 - Hishimasaru
- 1960 - Otemon
- 1961 - Homare Boshi
- 1962 - Onslaught
- 1963 - Yamano O
- 1964 - Yamato Kiyodai
- 1965 - Fuji Isami
- 1966 - Speed King
- 1967 - Speed Symboli
- 1968 - Hishi Yakushin
- 1969 - Light World
- 1970 - Akane Tenryu
- 1971 - Makino Hope
- 1972 - Katsu Taiko
- 1973 - Toyo Asahi
- 1974 - Takekuma Hikaru
- 1975 - White Fountain
- 1976 - White Fountain
- 1977 - Green Grass
- 1978 - Kane Minobu
- 1979 - Dan Kenji
- 1980 - Hoyo Boy
- 1981 - Western Jet
- 1982 - Mejiro Titan
- 1983 - Asahi Teio
- 1984 - Hayate Mig
- 1985 - Symboli Rudolf
- 1986 - Chestnut Valley
- 1987 - Miho Shinzan
- 1988 - Mejiro Fulmar
- 1989 - Running Free
- 1990 - Osumi Shadai
- 1991 - Kiri Sancy
- 1992 - Mejiro Ryan
- 1993 - Rice Shower
- 1994 - Stage Champ
- 1995 - Inter Liner
- 1996 - Hokkai Rousseau
- 1997 - Rosen Kavalier
- 1998 - Tenjin Shogun
- 1999 - Seiun Sky
See also
References
- ↑ Prior to Japan switching to the international age system for racehorses in 2001, they used an old age notation called "kazoedoshi", where all horses were considered to be one year old at birth.
- 1 2 3 "Nikkei Sho". Horse Racing in Japan.
- ↑ "第62回日経賞開催日「中山競馬場招待席」特別招待". esf.nikkei.co.jp. Retrieved 2026-08-16.
- 1 2 "日経賞". Netkeiba.
- 1 2 "歴史・コース：日経賞 今週の注目レース JRA". jra.jp. Retrieved 2026-08-16.
- ↑ "競馬番組一般事項(Horseracing Program General Information) - Page 22" (PDF). JRA. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ↑ "List of JRA Graded Races 2024｜List of JRA Graded Races｜Horse Racing in Japan". Horse Racing in Japan. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ↑ "2016 result". Racing Post. 26 March 2016.
- ↑ "2017 result". Racing Post. 25 March 2017.
- ↑ "2018 result". Racing Post. 24 March 2018.
- ↑ "Nikkei Sho". Netkeiba.