Topic
- Restrictions on the number of visitors and cancellation of events due to COVID-19 continued during the year.
- The major renovation of Kyoto Racecourse will continue this year and is scheduled for completion in March 2023.
Races originally held at Kyoto Racecourse were held at Hanshin, Chukyo and Kokura Racecourses. - Sodashi, the previous year’s queen of the two-year-olds and a popular white-haired horse, was active, winning the Oka Sho and Sapporo Kinen.
She won the Best Three-Year-Old Filly. - Pixie Knight won the Sprinters Stakes.
Following in the steps of his great-grandsire Grass Wonder, grandsire Screen Hero, and sire Maurice, his G1 victory marked the first time in JRA history that four generations of sires and crops had won a G1 race. - Efforia had a great performance, winning Satsuki-sho, Tenno Sho (Autumn) and Arima Kinen.
He won the Horse of the Year. - Loves Only You won the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf.
It was the first time in history that a Japanese-trained horse had won the Breeders’ Cup. - Marche Lorraine won the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.
She became the first horse to win a international-dirt-G1 race outside of Japan.
(Victoire Pisa won the Dubai World Cup, but it was an all-weather track at that time.
Also, races such as the Korea Cup, which is a G1 race domestically but not under international standards, have been won by Japanese horses in the past.)
The victory also marked the first time in the history of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff that a horse not trained in North America had won the race. - Omega Perfume has won the Tokyo Daishoten four times in a row.
It was announced at one point that he would be retired and become a stallion, but that plan has been dropped and he will remain active in 2022.
Flat-G1 races held by JRA
| Races | Track | age / (Colt Filly Gelding) | 1st |  |
|
| February Stakes | Tokyo D1600 |
over 4 / CFG | Cafe Pharoah | ◆ | E |
| Takamatsunomiya Kinen | Chukyo T1200 |
over 4 / CFG | Danon Smash | ◆ | E |
| Osaka Hai | Hanshin T2000 |
over 4 / CFG | Lei Papale | ◆ | E |
| Oka Sho | Hanshin T1600 |
3 / F | Sodashi | ◆ | E |
| Satsuki Sho | Nakayama T2000 |
3 / CF | Efforia | ◆ | E |
| Tenno Sho (Spring) | Hanshin T3200 |
over 4 / CFG | World Premiere | ◆ | E |
| NHK Mile Cup | Tokyo T1600 |
3 / CF | Schnell Meister | ◆ | E |
| Victoria Mile | Tokyo T1600 |
over 4 / F | Gran Alegria | ◆ | E |
| Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) | Tokyo T2400 |
3 / F | Uberleben | ◆ | E |
| Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) | Tokyo T2400 |
3 / CF | Shahryar | ◆ | E |
| Yasuda Kinen | Tokyo T1600 |
over 3 / CFG | Danon Kingly | ◆ | E |
| Takarazuka Kinen | Hanshin T2200 |
over 3 / CFG | Chrono Genesis | ◆ | E |
| Sprinters Stakes | Nakayama D1200 |
over 3 / CFG | Pixie Knight | ◆ | E |
| Shuka Sho | Hanshin T2000 |
3 / F | Akaitorino Musume | ◆ | E |
| Kikuka Sho | Hanshin T3000 |
3 / CF | Titleholder | ◆ | E |
| Tenno Sho (Autumn) | Tokyo T2000 |
over 3 / CFG | Efforia | ◆ | E |
| Queen Elizabeth II Cup | Hanshin T2200 |
over 3 / F | Akai Ito | ◆ | E |
| Mile Championship | Hanshin T1600 |
over 3 / CFG | Gran Alegria | ◆ | E |
| Japan Cup | Tokyo T2400 |
over 3 / CFG | Contrail | ◆ | E |
| Champions Cup | Chukyo D1800 |
over 3 /CFG | T O Keynes | ◆ | E |
| Hanshin Juvenile Fillies | Hanshin T1600 |
2 / F | Circle of Life | ◆ | E |
| Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes | Hanshin T1600 |
2 / CF | Do Deuce | ◆ | E |
| Arima Kinen | Nakayama T2500 |
over 3 / CFG | Efforia | ◆ | E |
| Hopeful Stakes | Nakayama T2000 |
2 / CF | Killer Ability | ◆ | E |
J・G1 races (Steeplechase)
| Races | Track | age / (Colt Filly Gelding) | 1st | |
| Nakayama Grand Jump | Nakayama J4250 |
over 4 / CFG | Meisho Dassai | ◆ |
| Nakayama Daishogai | Nakayama J4100 |
over 4 / CFG | Oju Chosan | ◆ |
G1 races held by NAR
| Races | Track | age / (Colt Filly Gelding) | 1st | |
| Kawasaki Kinen | Kawasaki D2100 |
over 4 / CFG | Casino Fountain | ◆ |
| Kashiwa Kinen | Funabashi D1600 |
over 4 / CFG | Casino Fountain | ◆ |
| Teio Sho | Ohi D2000 |
over 4 / CFG | T O Keynes | ◆ |
| Japan Dirt Derby | Ohi D2000 |
3 / CFG | Castle Top | ◆ |
| Mile Championship Nambu Hai | Morioka D1600 |
over 3 / CFG | Arctos | ◆ |
| JBC Ladies’ Classic | Kanazawa D1500 |
over 3 / F | Teorema | ◆ |
| JBC Sprint | Kanazawa D1400 |
over 3 / CFG | Red le Zele | ◆ |
| JBC Classic | Kanazawa D2100 |
over 3 / CFG | Mutually | ◆ |
| Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun | Kawasaki D1600 |
2 / CFG | Dry Stout | ◆ |
| Tokyo Daishoten | Ohi D2000 |
over 3 / CFG | Omega Perfume | ◆ |
JRA Award
| Horse of the Year | Efforia |
| Best Two-Year-Old Colt | Do Deuce |
| Best Two-Year-Old Filly | Circle of Life |
| Best Three-Year-Old Colt | Efforia |
| Best Three-Year-Old Filly | Sodashi |
| Best Older Male Horse | Contrail |
| Best Older Filly or Mare | Loves Only You |
| Best Sprinter or Miler | Gran Alegria |
| Best Dirt Horse | T O Keynes |
| Best Steeplechase Horse | Oju Chosan |
Loves Only You was also selected as the Eclipse Awards for American Champion Female Turf Horse (2021).
This was the first time in history that a Japanese-trained horse had won the Eclipse Award.
| Leading sire in Japan | Deep Impact |
| ← 2020 | All | 2022 → |