Creation of 3-year-old dirt Triple Crown announced

Japan's central racing operator, the Japan Racing Association (JRA), together with the local racing operators and the National Association of Racing (NAR), said in June 2022 that a three-year-old dirt Triple Crown would be created, part of a wider restructuring of the domestic dirt calendar that crosses the central and local racing divide from 2024¹. The plan was presented under what the groups called the "all-Japan development of the dirt racing system"¹.

The final leg of the new Triple Crown, run in October after the Haneda Cup and the Tokyo Derby, will be renamed the Japan Dirt Classic (JDC), replacing the Japan Dirt Derby that had been run in July through 2023¹. The step races were also rearranged. Three southern Kanto three-year-old races, the Bluebird Cup at Funabashi in January, the Kumotori Sho in February and the Keihin Hai at Oi in March, will be opened to JRA-trained horses and made dirt graded races¹. The JRA's Unicorn Stakes, currently run in June, becomes a step to the Tokyo Derby and is expected to be moved earlier¹. For the autumn route to the JDC, the plan names the Leopard Stakes, a JRA Grade 3 in August, and the Iwate tradition race, the Kozukata Sho in September, which becomes a new JpnII¹.

Older-horse and sprint and fillies routes also change:

The NAR's Toshitaka Aikawa said the point of the review was "to clarify the peak race in each category"¹. The Iwate Racing Association's general manager, Masaru Suzuki, said the Derby Grand Prix, long the autumn championship for three-year-olds, would "end next year" following the Kozukata Sho's change to JpnII¹. Hyogo's racing body said the Kusunoki Sho is "currently under consideration" and that it is also reviewing the current Hyogo Triple Crown¹.

The new system starts for two-year-olds in 2023 and for three-year-olds and older horses in 2024¹. The unified national grading standard and the dirt grade race name date to 1997¹.

What it means for players

The changes affect which races carry graded status and when they are run, which matters for anyone betting on Japanese horse racing through pari-mutuel pools. Races that move month or venue, such as the Kawasaki Kinen and the Queen Sho, will appear in different parts of the calendar, and the Sakitama Hai's upgrade to JpnI puts it in a higher grade¹. The opening of the Bluebird Cup, Kumotori Sho and Keihin Hai to JRA horses means fields in those races can include runners from both the central and local systems¹. The distinction between the two systems is explained in JRA vs NAR Local Racing, and the local scene more broadly in Local Horse Racing in Japan. Multi-race bets tied to these meetings are covered in Double, Treble, Triple Trio and Six Up and Racing Jackpots and Carryovers. General rules on betting in the country are set out in Can I Gamble in Japan?.

What happens next

The new framework begins with two-year-old races in 2023, and with three-year-old and older-horse races in 2024¹. The JDC replaces the Japan Dirt Derby from 2024, after its last running under the old name in 2023¹. The NAR and the local operators said further points remain under discussion and that the announced system is not considered final¹.