# Japan Dirt Classic

The Japan Dirt Classic (ジャパンダートクラシック) is a Japanese Domestic Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies run over a distance of 2,000 meters (approximately 1 mile 2 furlongs) at the Oi Racecourse, Shinagawa, Tokyo in early October. It is the third and final leg of the Japanese Triple Crown of Dirt.

## History

The race was first run in 1999 as the Japan Dirt Derby and was the Japanese equivalent of the American Kentucky Derby. Though the race was the last leg of triple crown of minami-kanto keiba (nankan keiba), while Kentucky Derby is the first one of American triple crown races.
The majority of winners comes from the Japan Racing Association (JRA), another Japan horse racing governing body, as JRA do not host any dirt Grade 1 race exclusively for 3-year-old horses.
In June 2022, it was announced that from 2024 that it will become the third leg of the Japanese Triple Crown of Dirt along with Haneda Hai and Tokyo Derby. The name of the race was changed to Japan Dirt Classic and the schedule was moved to October. Geldings will no longer be able to enter and prize money for 1st place was increased to ¥ 70,000,000.

## Trial races

Trial races provide automatic berths to the winning horses or placed horses as specified.
| Race | Grade | Racecourse | Distance | Condition |
| Kuroshio Hai | SIII | Oi | 1,800 meters | Winner and runner-up |
| Leopard Stakes | GIII | Niigata | 1,800 meters | Winner |
| Kozukata Sho | JpnII | Morioka | 2,000 meters | Winner |

### Notes

* ↑ Classified as a local, South Kanto Grade 3 event

## Winners since 1999

| Year | Winner | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Organization | Time |
| 1999 | Orion The Thanks | Shuji Hayata | Kiyomatsu Akama | Keiko Hiura | Oi | 2:06.9 |
| 2000 | Meiner Combat | Naohiro Onishi | Ryuichi Inaba | Thoroughbred Club Ruffian Co. Ltd. | JRA | 2:06.4 |
| 2001 | Toshin Blizzard | Takayuki Ishigaki | Kenji Sato | Eiichi Waizumi | Funabashi | 2:05.8 |
| 2002 | Gold Allure | Yutaka Take | Yasuo Ikee | Shadai Racehorse | JRA | 2:04.1 |
| 2003 | Big Wolf | Yutaka Take | Tadashi Nakao | U Big | JRA | 2:04.9 |
| 2004 | Cafe Olympus | Yoshitomi Shibata | Yasuhisa Matsuyama | Koichi Nishikawa | JRA | 2:04.5 |
| 2005 | Kane Hekili | Yutaka Take | Katsuhiko Sumii | Kaneko Makoto Holdings Co. Ltd. | JRA | 2:04.9 |
| 2006 | Friendship | Hiroyuki Uchida | Katsuhiko Sumii | Teruya Yoshida | JRA | 2:06.1 |
| 2007 | Furioso | Tadanari Konno | Masayuki Kawashima | Darley Japan Farm Co. Ltd. | Funabashi | 2:02.9 |
| 2008 | Success Brocken | Norihiro Yokoyama | Hideaki Fujiwara | Tetsu Takashima | JRA | 2:04.5 |
| 2009 | Testa Matta | Yasunari Iwata | Akira Murayama | Katsumi Yoshida | JRA | 2:04.5 |
| 2010 | Magnifica | Keita Tosaki | Masayuki Kawashima | Teruya Yoshida | Funabashi | 2:05.2 |
| 2011 | Grape Brandy | Norihiro Yokoyama | Takayuki Yasuda | Shadai Racehorse | JRA | 2:04.9 |
| 2012 | Hatano Vainqueur | Hirofumi Shii | Mitsugu Kon | Good Luck Farm Co. Ltd. | JRA | 2:05.3 |
| 2013 | Chrysolite | Hiroyuki Uchida | Hidetaka Otonashi | U Carrot Farm | JRA | 2:04.8 |
| 2014 | Kazenoko | Shinichiro Akiyama | Kenji Nonaka | Koji Nudejima | JRA | 2:03.9 |
| 2015 | Nonkono Yume | Christophe Lemaire | Yukihiro Kato | Kotaro Yamada | JRA | 2:05.6 |
| 2016 | Kyoei Gere | Keita Tosaki | Yoshito Yahagi | Haruo Tanaka | JRA | 2:05.7 |
| 2017 | Higashi Will Win | Masashige Honda | Kenji Sato | MMC Co. Ltd. | Funabashi | 2:05.8 |
| 2018 | Le Vent Se Leve | Mirco Demuro | Kiyoshi Hagiwara | G1 Racing | JRA | 2:05.8 |
| 2019 | Chrysoberyl | Yuga Kawada | Hidetaka Otonashi | U Carrot Farm | JRA | 2:06.1 |
| 2020 | Danon Pharaoh | Ryusei Sakai | Yoshito Yahagi | Danox Co. Ltd. | JRA | 2:05.9 |
| 2021 | Castle Top | Kazuma Nakano | Nobuhiro Shibuya | Hiroshi Joichi | Funabashi | 2:05.9 |
| 2022 | Notturno | Yutaka Take | Hidetaka Otonashi | Kaneko Makoto Holdings Co. Ltd. | JRA | 2:04.6 |
| 2023 | Mick Fire | Norifumi Mikamoto | Kazuo Watanabe | Koichi Hoshika | Oi | 2:04.6 |
| Triple Crown of Dirt Series |||||||
| 2024 | Forever Young | Ryusei Sakai | Yoshito Yahagi | Susumu Fujita | JRA | 2:04.1 |