Kentucky Derby History: International Horses & Why Japan Is Coming
Kentucky Derby international horses will run once again in 2024. Two entries from Japan will participate — Forever Young and TO Password.
Japanese horses factoring into Kentucky Derby odds is nothing new. Last year, Derma Sotogake and Mandarin Hero both garnered betting interest before failing to WPS. How have Kentucky Derby international horses done historically?
We’ll take a look below.
International Horses That Won The Kentucky Derby
Omar Khayyam, a colt from England, became the first international winner at the Kentucky Derby in 1917. Joining Omar Khayyam as the lone victor from the U.K. was Tomy Lee in 1959. Canonero II not only won the 1971 Kentucky Derby, but also the 1971 Preakness and 1972 Stymie, and hailed from Venezuela. The only two other international winners were bred in Canada – Northern Dancer (1964) and Sunny’s Halo (1983).
Northern Dancer held the Kentucky Derby track record until it was broken by Secretariat in 1973.
International Horses In 2024 Kentucky Derby: Forever Young And T O Password
Keep in mind that this year’s Kentucky Derby field, international horses and otherwise, is far from set. There’s still one more small qualifying race on the schedule, and some horses that qualify may ultimately not enter or become late scratches.
But as of mid-April, Forever Young and T O Password are in the projected field, though they occupy opposing ends of the betting odds.
Forever Young excelled overseas with two high-profile victories in Dubai. He has won each of his two stakes races and looks likely to go off as one of the favorites.
T O Password, meanwhile, took advantage of Forever Young’s absence from the Japanese points race. He topped the charts by winning the Fukuryu Stakes after Forever Young scored some points but then ran in in the Emirates. He’s expected to be one of the longest shots in the race.
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Derma Sotogake And Mandarin Hero (2023)
Derma Sotogake wound up going off around 8-1 after several late scratches. He’d ultimately run sixth after a poor start, disappointing bettors who had moved him off a 10-1 morning line.
Mandarin Hero shipped in as an alternate but found his way into the race after Lord Miles was barred from running due to incidents involving other horses trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. Mandarin Hero went off around 17-1 despite being a late entrant, but he’d finish 12 in an 18-horse field, more than 20 lengths back.
A third Japanese entrant, Continuar, was supposed to run but scratched when the trainer deemed him unfit.
Crown Pride (2022)
Last year, Crown Pride became the second horse from Japan to run in the Kentucky Derby. He closed at 16-1 out of Gate 7 and finished 13th in the race. Crown Pride also had won the UAE Derby, a common denominator among international horses looking to run in the Kentucky Derby. He’s also a grandson of Sunday Silence, the 1989 Kentucky Derby victor.
Other Kentucky Derby International Horses With Japan Connections
The other Japanese-bred horse to run in the Derby was Master Fencer, who finished sixth in 2019. In 2016, Lani was bred in the U.S. but ran in Japan. He won the UAE Derby and ran ninth in Kentucky.
Will A Japanese Horse Win The Kentucky Derby Soon?
Without Beyer Speed Figures (BSF) from international races, handicapping international horses is a difficult task. Instead, punters must rely on race splits and overall performance.
The emergence of Japanese horses in the Kentucky Derby will not come as a surprise to many in the horse breeding industry. A feature in the New York Times in 2015 suggested this may be coming, as that country’s breeders and trainers are developing horses for classic race distances
“They’re buying global pedigrees and breeding them for two-turn classic distances,” said Craig Bernick, the head of Glen Hill Farm in Florida, “and we’re breeding for the 2-year-old market. When they run these international races, you can see the difference between their horses and ours. After 30 years of this, we’re paying the price. Japan knows what they’re doing.”
Two-year-old horses in the United States run shorter distances than those run in the Triple Crown races and Breeders’ Cup Classic.
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