The is a Grade 1 Ban'ei horse race, held in Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan for four-year-olds and up. The full name is (Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award, Ban'ei Kinen).
The race is the championship race held at the end of the season (March), with the highest weight and prize money among all ban'ei races. The race was initially held in Kitami, Asahikawa, Iwamizawa and Obihiro on a rotating basis. In 1988 the Ban'ei Kinen was fixed at Obihiro.
The winning time is rarely less than three minutes and it many cases it can take 3–4 minutes. In some cases, the winning time can be 5 minutes or more. The Ban'ei Kinen has one of the longest average finishing times of Japan's public competitions. Since 1977, there have only been six times (1979, 1980, 1992, 2012, 2021, and 2022) that the winning time was less than 3 minutes. Due to this, the Ban'ei Kinen is sometimes called "the world's longest 1 furlong race".
Winners since 2001
Year Winner Jockey Trainer Time2001Sakano TaisonKazuo OkawaraHaruo Nishimura3:42.32002Sakano TaisonTakumi FujimotoHaruo Nishimura4:16.42003Super PegasusToshiharu IwamotoEito Otomo4:19.82004Super PegasusToshiharu IwamotoEito Otomo3:07.82005Super PegasusShunichi FujinoEito Otomo3:15.32006Super PegasusShunichi FujinoEito Otomo4:36.12007Tomoe PowerToichi SakamotoHirofumi Matsui4:50.62008Tomoe PowerHiromi NishiHirofumi Matsui5:35.82009Tomoe PowerHiromi NishiHirofumi Matsui4:50.82010Nishiki DaijinShunichi FujinoIsamu Kaneta4:24.82011Kanesa BlackMichiaki MatsudaHirofumi Matsui4:07.72012Nishiki DaijinKeisuke SuzukiShinichi Murakami2:34.02013Kanesa BlackMichiaki MatsudaHirofumi Matsui3:43.12014InfinityTatsuya AsadaIsamu Kaneda4:13.22015Kitano TaishoKazuo OkawaraYoshiyuki Hattori3:49.92016Fuji Dai VictoryMichiaki MatsudaAkihiko Kanayama3:41.52017Oreno KokoroKeisuke SuzukiShigeto Tsukitate4:07.62018Oreno KokoroKeisuke SuzukiShigeto Tsukitate3:59.32019Sengo QuaceAtsushi KudoShigeto Tsukitate3:35.02020Oreno KokoroKeisuke SuzukiShigeto Tsukitate4:16.02021Hokusho MasaruTakeomi AbeToichi Sakamoto2:43.42022Mejiro GorikiKenichi NishiHirofumi Matsui2:47.22023MemrobosapTakeomi AbeToichi Sakamoto3:34.42024Mejiro GorikiKeisuke SuzukiHirofumi Matsui2:55.02025MemrobosapWatarai ShinroToichi Sakamoto2:17.5
References