The Kyoto Himba Stakes, a Grade 3 race run by the Japan Racing Association (JRA) at Kyoto Racecourse, changed its handicap basis from "prize money" to "grade" starting in 2023, with the weight carried by every runner set at a uniform 55kg1. Until 2022, weights were 52kg for 4-year-olds and 53kg for horses aged 5 and older1.
The race is for 4-year-old and older fillies and mares (international, designated)1. Under the previous prize-money basis, Japanese horses started at 52kg (4-year-olds) or 53kg (5 and older), with 1kg added for every 16 million yen in prize money earned; foreign-trained horses started at 54kg (4-year-olds) or 55kg (5 and older), with 5kg added for a Grade 1 win, 3kg for a Grade 2 win and 1kg for a Grade 3 win, excluding results at age 21.
The race was founded in 1966 as the Kyoto Himba Tokubetsu, a handicap for fillies and mares aged 4 and older, run over 2,000m of turf at Kyoto1. It was renamed the Kyoto Himba Stakes in 20011. The distance was shortened to 1,600m (outer course) in 1968 and to 1,400m (outer course) in 20161. It was graded GIII when the grade system began in 19841. Foreign-bred horses became eligible in 1992, foreign-trained horses in 2005 and runners from regional racing in 20201. The field was expanded to 18 runners in 2015, when the foreign-trained horse quota was set at nine1. From 2021 through 2023 the race was run at Hanshin Racecourse while Kyoto Racecourse was under construction1.
The change is recorded in the race's history: "負担重量を｢賞金別定｣から「グレード別定｣に変更され、斤量も一律に55kgへ変更される"1.
"負担重量を｢賞金別定｣から「グレード別定｣に変更され、斤量も一律に55kgへ変更される"
What it means for players
Under a grade-based handicap, weight is set by the grade of races a horse has won rather than by the prize money it has accumulated, so a mare's burden no longer rises purely with career earnings. For the 2023 running, every runner carried the same 55kg, which removes the weight differences that previously separated younger and older mares and separated Japanese from foreign-trained runners. Punters assessing the race on form, weight carried or ratings will find the old weight figures no longer apply. How the JRA sets weights in handicap races and ratings and whether JRA Grade 1 races are fixed weight or handicap are covered in the site's guides. Betting on Japanese racing, including racecourses, pari-mutuel pools and bet types, and the rules on gambling in Japan are also set out there.
What happens next
The race was discontinued after the 2024 running, and from 2025 its race conditions were moved to the Aichi Hai1.
Sources1 sources
- 京都牝馬ステークス - Wikipedia, ja.wikipedia.org
