NHK Mile Cup
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 The 14th NHK Mile Cup (第14回NHKマイルカップ) | |
| Class | Grade 1 |
|---|---|
| Location | Tokyo Racecourse, Fuchu, Tokyo, Tokyo |
| Inaugurated | May 12, 1996 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred |
| Website | japanracing.jp/ |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1600 meters (About 8 furlongs / 1 mile) |
| Surface | Turf |
| Track | Left-handed |
| Qualification | 3-y-o, colts & Fillies only, no Geldings |
| Weight | 57 kg Allowance: Fillies & SH-bred 2 kg |
| Purse | ¥ 281,300,000 (as of 2025)
|
The NHK Mile Cup (NHKマイルカップ, NHK Mairu Kappu) is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies, run over a distance of 1,600 metres (approximately one mile) on the turf at Tokyo Racecourse in May.[1]
The NHK Mile Cup is sponsored by the Japanese public broadcasting organization NHK, and as such, it is broadcast not only on Fuji TV (one of NHK's competitors) but on one of the NHK channels that cover horse racing (NHK General TV; the other, BS-1, covers certain other races such as the Japan Cup). (In Japanese horseracing, "Sponsor" does not mean that an individual or organization provides prize money. They provide only the prize, cup, trophy etc.)
Before the year 2001, this was the only G1 race for colts and fillies that non-Japanese bred three-year-olds could participate in, which led to this race being considered informally as the "Japanese Derby for non-Japanese bred horses" until foreign-bred entry restrictions were lifted in 2001. Until 2010 it was limited to domestic-trained horses, but this restriction was removed that year (as for the Japanese classics). A maximum of nine foreign horses are allowed entry in the NHK Mile Cup. It is considered one of the prep races for both the Yushun Himba (the Japanese Oaks), run in May, and the Tokyo Yushun (the Japanese Derby), which takes place in late May or early June.[2]
| Race name | Grade | Racecourse | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mainichi Hai | GIII | Hanshin | Turf 1800m |
| 2 | Margelet Stakes | OP | Hanshin | Turf 1400m |
| 3 | New Zealand Trophy | GII | Nakayama | Turf 1600m |
| 4 | Oka Sho | GI | Hanshin | Turf 1600m |
| 5 | Satsuki Sho | GI | Nakayama | Turf 2000m |
Of the above races the New Zealand Trophy is the only formal trial for the NHK Mile Cup. The first three finishers in the former gain the right to participate in the latter. If a horse from the National Association of Racing (NAR) finishes in the first three in the New Zealand Trophy, at most two extra participation rights will be issued for runners in the other four races.
