Horse racing prize money per second in Japan
The 24 races we hold in Japan pay £13.3m across 46:12.70 of running. the Japan Cup pays the most for its time, at £39,156 a second.
The median race here pays £7,907,679 an hour of running, above the £4,549,800 median across all 611 races we rank, which puts Japan 6th of 14 countries. 7 of its races sit in the world's hundred best paid seconds, 2 of them in the top fifty.
The best paid seconds in Japan
Prize money per hour of running
Every race in Japan, ranked per second
24 races, with each one's place in the world order
| # | Race | Time | Purse | Per second | World |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan Cup ¥1,090,000,000 | 2:20.302025 | £5,493,600 | £39,156 | 6 |
| 2 | Japan Breeding Farms' Cup Sprint ¥136,000,000 | 58.80s2025 | £685,440 | £11,657 | 42 |
| 3 | Japan Breeding Farms' Cup Classic ¥170,000,000 | 1:52.002025 | £856,800 | £7,650 | 66 |
| 4 | Mile Championship Nambu Hai ¥140,000,000 | 1:34.302025 | £705,600 | £7,483 | 68 |
| 5 | Kashiwa Kinen ¥136,000,000 | 1:38.602026 | £685,440 | £6,952 | 76 |
| 6 | Tokyo Derby ¥170,000,000 | 2:04.402026 | £856,800 | £6,887 | 78 |
| 7 | Teio Sho ¥136,000,000 | 2:02.802026 | £685,440 | £5,582 | 97 |
| 8 | Japan Dirt Classic ¥119,000,000 | 2:03.702025 | £599,760 | £4,849 | 109 |
| 9 | Haneda Hai ¥102,000,000 | 1:52.702026 | £514,080 | £4,561 | 120 |
| 10 | Japan Breeding Farms' Cup Ladies' Classic ¥102,000,000 | 1:53.302025 | £514,080 | £4,537 | 123 |
| 11 | Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun ¥71,400,000 | 1:44.202025 | £359,856 | £3,454 | 161 |
| 12 | Japan Breeding Farms' Cup Nisai Yushun ¥59,500,000 | 1:55.502025 | £299,880 | £2,596 | 208 |
| 13 | Nippon TV Hai ¥40,000,000 | 1:52.202025 | £201,600 | £1,797 | 248 |
| 14 | Derby Grand Prix ¥40,000,000 | 2:03.002023 | £201,600 | £1,639 | 272 |
| 15 | Oka Sho (Urawa) ¥20,000,000 | 1:34.702026 | £100,800 | £1,064 | 333 |
| 16 | Tokyo Kinen ¥30,000,000 | 2:35.302025 | £151,200 | £974 | 347 |
| 17 | Tokyo Princess Sho ¥20,000,000 | 1:53.402023 | £100,800 | £889 | 367 |
| 18 | Kimpai ¥22,000,000 | 2:50.102026 | £110,880 | £652 | 451 |
| 19 | Ban'ei Kinen ¥10,000,000 | 2:17.502025 | £50,400 | £367 | 567 |
| 20 | Kikusui Sho ¥7,000,000 | 1:49.102019 | £35,280 | £323 | 581 |
| 21 | Tokai Derby ¥7,000,000 | 2:16.302026 | £35,280 | £259 | 591 |
| 22 | Nojigiku Sho ¥5,000,000 | 1:51.902019 | £25,200 | £225 | 601 |
| 23 | Seiran Sho ¥3,000,000 | 1:38.302019 | £15,120 | £154 | 607 |
| 24 | Takeyoriwake Sho ¥2,500,000 | 1:30.302025 | £12,600 | £140 | 610 |
Japan against the other 13
Median prize money per hour of running
| # | Country | Races | Median per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 11 | £59,338,377£59.3m |
| 2 | Hong Kong | 15 | £55,272,727£55.3m |
| 3 | Saudi Arabia | 5 | £18,175,311£18.2m |
| 4 | Singapore | 3 | £17,376,837£17.4m |
| 5 | the United States | 197 | £10,478,145£10.5m |
| 6 | Japan | 24 | £7,907,679£7.9m |
| 7 | New Zealand | 37 | £6,278,639£6.3m |
| 8 | Great Britain | 42 | £3,475,821£3.5m |
| 9 | Italy | 32 | £3,274,638£3.3m |
| 10 | France | 127 | £2,952,683£3.0m |
| 11 | the United Arab Emirates | 31 | £2,622,995£2.6m |
| 12 | Canada | 24 | £2,621,159£2.6m |
| 13 | Germany | 50 | £1,653,197£1.7m |
| 14 | Ireland | 10 | £1,365,201£1.4m |
Frequently asked questions
Which race in Japan pays the most per second?
the Japan Cup, at £39,156 a second. Its £5,493,600 purse was run in 2:20.30 in 2025, and it is 6th of the 611 races we rank worldwide.
How does Japan compare with the rest of the world?
The median race in Japan pays £7,907,679 an hour of running, above the £4,549,800 median across all 611 races. That makes it 6th of the 14 countries with a page here.
How long do the races in Japan take to hand over their prize money?
The 24 races here pay out £13,297,536 across 46:12.70 of running, an average of £4,796 a second.
Where to next
The rest of the racing money