The Fukuryu Stakes is the final and most important race on the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby. Run at Nakayama Racecourse in Chiba, Japan, over 1 1/8 miles on dirt, it is the richest points event in the Japanese series. It often decides which Japan-based contender earns an invitation to the Kentucky Derby.
The 2026 Fukuryu Stakes is scheduled for March 28, as the fourth and final leg of the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby. Winning this race typically awards the largest number of international qualifying points on the Japan Road.
Past editions of the Fukuryu Stakes have been won by promising three-year-olds who went on to compete on the Derby trail. Recent winners include horses like Luxor Cafe, who took the 2025 running and earned maximum Derby points in the series.
| Year | Winner | Jockey | Trainer | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Luxor Cafe | João Moreira | Noriyuki Hori | 1:52.1 |
| 2024 | T O Password | Katsuma Sameshima | Daisuke Takayanagi | 1:54.1 |
| 2023 | Mitono O | Takuya Kowata | Koji Maki | 1:51.9 |
| 2022 | Delicada | Ryuji Wada | Naohiro Yoshida | 1:52.1 |
| 2021 | God Selection | Yuji Nakai | Teiichi Konno | 1:52.1 |
| 2020 | Herrschaft | Yusuke Fujioka | Kenji Nonaka | 1:53.4 |
As part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby, the Fukuryu Stakes awards 40-20-12-8-4 points to the top five finishers in Japan Road competition, often shaping which Japanese contender advances toward a Derby invitation.
For online horse betting, this race is crucial because it evaluates stamina over 1 1/8 miles on dirt, a distance and surface combination that gives valuable insight into which horses can stay competitive as the series moves toward the Churchill Downs spring classics.
