The Japanese Horse of the Year is the highest honor given in Japanese thoroughbred horse racing. It is awarded annually by the Japan Racing Association (JRA). Since 1987 the honor has been part of the JRA Awards. This award originally started as part of the Keishū Sha Awards in 1954 and since 1972 part of the Yūshun Awards.
Most successful horse (2 wins):
Includes honorees from 1954 to 1972, which was when the JRA Awards was called the Keishū Sha Awards.
| Year | Horse | Trainer | Owner | Sex | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Hakuryo | Tokichi Ogata | Hiroshi Nishi | c | 4 |
| 1955 | Otokitsu | Fusamatsu Okubo | Washitaro Kawaguchi | c | 3 |
| 1956 | Meiji Hikari | Tomiyoshi Fujimoto | Shinsaku Nitta | c | 4 |
| 1957 | Hakuchikara | Tokichi Ogata | Hiroshi Nishi | c | 4 |
| 1958 | Onward There | Toshio Nihonyanagi | Junzo Kashiyama | c | 4 |
| 1959 | Will deal | Senshi Hoshikawa | Kunijiro Asano | c | 3 |
| 1960 | Kodama | Yoshigoro Ito | Bungo Takeda | c | 3 |
| 1961 | Homareboshi | Toshio Hieda | Fumiko Kawaguchi | c | 4 |
| 1962 | Onslaught | Hiroshi Nakamura | Kishi Tamura | c | 5 |
| 1963 | Ryu Forel | Masaharu Hashimoto | Emiko Miyoshi | c | 4 |
| 1963 | Meizui | Tokichi Ogata | Yasushi Chigira | c | 3 |
| 1964 | Shinzan | Bungo Takeda | Kokichi Hashimoto | c | 3 |
| 1965 | Shinzan | Bungo Takeda | Kokichi Hashimoto | c | 4 |
| 1966 | Korehide | Tokichi Ogata | Yasushi Chigira | c | 4 |
| 1967 | Speed Symboli | Shozo Nohira | Tomohiro Wada | c | 4 |
| 1968 | Asaka O | Hiroshi Nakamura | Genji Asaka | c | 3 |
| 1969 | Takeshiba O | Suetaro Mitsui | Masao Obata | c | 4 |
| 1970 | Speed Symboli | Shozo Nohira | Tomohiro Wada | c | 7 |
| 1971 | Tomei | Masayuki Sakata | Katsuo Kondo | f | 5 |
| 1972 | Ishino Hikaru | Takeshi Asano | Kiyohito Ishijima | c | 3 |
| 1973 | Take Hope | Yukio Inaba | Take Kondo | c | 3 |
| 1974 | Kitano Kachidoki | Masatoshi Hattori | Yutaka Hatsuda | c | 3 |
| 1975 | Kaburaya O | Tamejiro Mogi | Yoshiko Kato | c | 3 |
| 1976 | Tosho Boy | Takayoshi Yasuda | Tosho Sangyo | c | 3 |
| 1977 | Ten Point | Sasuke Ogawa | Hisanari Takada | c | 4 |
| 1978 | Kane Minobu | Shotaro Abe | Ikuko Hatakeyama | c | 4 |
| 1979 | Green Grass | Takao Nakano | Kichishiro Hanzawa | c | 6 |
| 1980 | Hoyo Boy | Toshio Nihonyanagi | Yoshiharu Furukawa | c | 5 |
| 1981 | Hoyo Boy | Toshio Nihonyanagi | Yoshiharu Furukawa | c | 6 |
| 1982 | Hikari Duel | Hikozo Sugai | Zenkichi Hashimoto | c | 5 |
| 1983 | Mr. C.B. | Yasuhisa Matsuyama | Marunuma Onsen Hotel Co., Ltd. | c | 3 |
| 1984 | Symboli Rudolf | Yuji Nohira | Symboli Bokujo | c | 3 |
| 1985 | Symboli Rudolf | Yuji Nohira | Symboli Bokujo | c | 4 |
| 1986 | Dyna Gulliver | Kichizaburo Matsuyama | Shadai Race Horse | c | 3 |
| 1987 | Sakura Star O | Yuji Hirai | Sakura Commerce | c | 3 |
| 1988 | Tamamo Cross | Isami Obara | Tamamo Inc. | c | 4 |
| 1989 | Inari One | Kiyoshi Suzuki | Hiroki Hotehama | c | 5 |
| 1990 | Oguri Cap | Tsutomu Setoguchi | Shunsuke Kondo | c | 5 |
| 1991 | Tokai Teio | Shouichi Matsumoto | Masanori Uchimura | c | 3 |
| 1992 | Mihono Bourbon | Tameo Toyama | Mihono International | c | 3 |
| 1993 | Biwa Hayahide | Mitsumasa Hamada | Biwa Co., Ltd. | c | 3 |
| 1994 | Narita Brian | Masaaki Ookubo | Hidenori Yamaji | c | 3 |
| 1995 | Mayano Top Gun | Masahiro Sakaguchi | Yu Tadokoro | c | 3 |
| 1996 | Sakura Laurel | Katsutaro Sakai | Sakura Commerce | c | 5 |
| 1997 | Air Groove | Yuji Ito | Lucky Field Co., Ltd. | f | 4 |
| 1998 | Taiki Shuttle | Kazuo Fujisawa | Taiki Farm | c | 4 |
| 1999 | El Condor Pasa | Yoshitaka Ninomiya | Takashi Watanabe | c | 4 |
| 2000 | T M Opera O | Ichizo Iwamoto | Masatsugu Takezono | c | 4 |
| 2001 | Jungle Pocket | Sakae Watanabe | Yomoji Saito | c | 3 |
| 2002 | Symboli Kris S | Kazuo Fujisawa | Symboli Stud | c | 3 |
| 2003 | Symboli Kris S | Kazuo Fujisawa | Symboli Stud | c | 4 |
| 2004 | Zenno Rob Roy | Kazuo Fujisawa | Shinobu Osako | c | 4 |
| 2005 | Deep Impact | Yasuo Ikee | Kaneko Makoto Holdings Co., Ltd. | c | 3 |
| 2006 | Deep Impact | Yasuo Ikee | Kaneko Makoto Holdings Co., Ltd. | c | 4 |
| 2007 | Admire Moon | Hiroyoshi Matsuda | Darley Japan Farm Co., Ltd. | c | 4 |
| 2008 | Vodka | Katsuhiko Sumii | Yuzo Tanimizu | f | 4 |
| 2009 | Vodka | Katsuhiko Sumii | Yuzo Tanimizu | f | 5 |
| 2010 | Buena Vista | Hiroyoshi Matsuda | Sunday Racing Co. | f | 4 |
| 2011 | Orfevre | Yasutoshi Ikee | Sunday Racing Co. | c | 3 |
| 2012 | Gentildonna | Sei Ishizaka | Sunday Racing Co. | f | 3 |
| 2013 | Lord Kanaloa | Takayuki Yasuda | Lord Horse Club | c | 5 |
| 2014 | Gentildonna | Sei Ishizaka | Sunday Racing Co. | f | 5 |
| 2015 | Maurice | Noriyuki Hori | Kazumi Yoshida | c | 4 |
| 2016 | Kitasan Black | Hisashi Shimizu | Ono Shoji | c | 4 |
| 2017 | Kitasan Black | Hisashi Shimizu | Ono Shoji | c | 5[1] |
| 2018 | Almond Eye | Sakae Kunieda | Silk Racing Co | f | 3 |
| 2019 | Lys Gracieux | Yoshito Yahagi | U Carrot Farm | f | 5[2] |
| 2020 | Almond Eye | Sakae Kunieda | Silk Racing Co | f | 5[3] |
| 2021 | Efforia | Yuichi Shikato | Carrot Farm Co. Ltd. | c | 3[4] |
| 2022 | Equinox | Tetsuya Kimura | Silk Racing Co | c | 3[5] |
| 2023 | Equinox | Tetsuya Kimura | Silk Racing Co | c | 4[6] |