The most eagerly awaited race of the year in Japan, the Group 1 Arima Kinen, happens Sunday, December 28 at Nakayama. The 2,500-meter turf race offers a purse of ¥955 million (US$6.1 million), one of the biggest of any race in the world, and the race drew a full field of 16 top-class horses between ages 3 and 8 to fight for those spoils.
The race, named for Nakayama racetrack founder Yoriyasu Arima, has been a fixture of the calendar in Japan since 1956. Unlike most races, whose fields are determined by entries and conditions from a racing office, the Arima Kinen takes a fan vote into consideration. 10 of the 16 starting spots are based on who gets the most fan votes, while the other 6 are apportioned based on earnings.
The top fan vote getter, not only of 2025 but of all time, is 2024 Arima Kinen winner Regaleira. She would become the first filly or mare to repeat in the Arima Kinen if she won. Others among the top vote-getters include Meisho Tabaru, Justin Palace, Museum Mile, Danon Decile, and Redentor.
Which horses have the best chances to add their name to an illustrious winners’ list that includes Symboli Kris S, Heart’s Cry, Deep Impact, Orfevre, Gold Ship, Gentildonna, Kitasan Black, Equinox, and Do Deuce? Keep reading to find out, and to find out the best places for betting horse racing online!
Arima Kinen Online Betting
Before you bet a single dollar on the Arima Kinen, make sure to find out the best online sportsbook for your betting style and preferred stakes. There are many opinions out there, but taking a few minutes now can build your bankroll by hundreds or even thousands of dollars!
There are many choices out there, but our online betting experts are ready to help you choose the best one quickly and easily. Every betting site we recommend has the basics: trusted payouts, market-leading odds, and a great user interface.
Each site also offers bonuses and promotions designed to help you build your profits even faster. Those include deposit bonuses, sign-up bonuses, and even horse racing rebates that pay you for every bet you make!
These are the best online sportsbooks for betting the Arima Kinen:
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Arima Kinen Field
This is the official field for the 2025 Arima Kinen including post positions, trainers, and jockeys:
- Excite Bio (Teiichi Konno / Kiwamu Ogino)
- Shin Emperor (Yoshito Yahagi / Ryusei Sakai)
- Justin Palace (Haruki Sugiyama / Taisei Danno)
- Museum Mile (Daisuke Takayanagi / Cristian Demuro)
- Regaleira (Tetsuya Kimura / Christophe Lemaire)
- Meisho Tabaru (Mamoru Ishibashi / Yutaka Take)
- Sunrise Zipangu (Kyoko Maekawa / Katsuma Sameshima)
- Chevalier Rose (Hisashi Shimizu / Yuichi Kitamura)
- Danon Decile (Shogo Yasuda / Keita Tosaki)
- Cosmo Kuranda (Shizuya Kato / Takeshi Yokoyama)
- Mystery Way (Shinya Kobayashi / Hiroki Matsumoto)
- Meiner Emperor (Hisashi Shimizu / Yuji Tannai)
- Admire Terra (Yasuo Tomomichi / Yuga Kawada)
- Arata (Yusuke Wada / Takuya Ono)
- Elton Barows (Haruki Sugiyama / Atsuya Nishimura)
- Tastiera (Noriyuki Hori / Kohei Matsuyama)
Remember that one of the best things about online betting is that you can lock in your odds just by placing a bet. Racetracks and OTBs offer betting on the Arima Kinen, but odds in those pools don’t close until the gates swing open. Especially since those pools aren’t commingled with the enormous pools in Japan, they are liable to swing all the way until post time.
Betting the biggest races at an online sportsbook is simpler, better, and more profitable – you check the site, you see an overlay on your horse, you bet it, and you know exactly what you’ll be paid when your horse wins. That’s it!
This is a chart of the Arima Kinen odds for horses at the top of the market at the most recommended sportsbooks:
 |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Danon Decile | +250 | +250 | +250 |
| Regaleira | +275 | +275 | +275 |
| Museum Mile | +300 | +300 | +300 |
| Meisho Tabaru | +900 | +900 | +900 |
| Justin Palace | +1600 | +1600 | +1600 |
Arima Kinen Handicapping
You have your wagering account set up, so now it is time to start handicapping the race. These are the top contenders for the 2025 Arima Kinen:
Arima Kinen Win Contenders
Three-year-old Museum Mile comes into the Arima Kinen in great form to show up his older foes. Though he didn’t get all the way there in the 2,400m Japanese Derby (G1) earlier this year, he took a few months off after that and has come back in cracking form in his next two starts.
He rallied to win a Group 2 at Nakayama when he returned in September, then finished a close second to Masquerade Ball in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1) in his last prep for this. He should be sharp third off the lay, he drew well enough not to lose a lot of ground, and keeps jockey Cristian Demuro from last out. This puts him in a great place to pull the mild spoiler.
Regaleira won the Arima Kinen last year and figures as a strong contender in her repeat bid. Though she was off for an injury after that race and needed a start to knock the rust off after the lay, she has bounced back to top form with two straight Group-level wins, including a repeat score in the Queen Elizabeth II at Kyoto last month. Expect a smart late run.
Arima Kinen Exotics Picks
There’s something to be said about striking while the iron is hot, and even moreso when the pace setup looks favorable. Mystery Way could shake out as the controlling speed, but has the grit to battle when challenged as well. He hasn’t faced horses like this before but he has won three of his last four including his first-ever group-level try last out. He consistently shows up, and if he does again he could hang on for a share at huge odds.
Danon Decile was third to Calandagan, perhaps the best horse in the world, in the Japan Cup (G1) last out. He was third in this race last year and followed it up with a win in the American Jockey Club Cup (G2) next out, suggesting he feels right at home at Nakayama. He may be a bit underlaid in the win pool but would be a surprise to see out of the exotics.
Meiner Emperor has not run since May. But, earlier this year he showed for the first time that he could cut it at the Group level, trying three times and not finishing worse than fifth. The distance suits him well, he can finagle a tactical placing, and if he returns sharp off the bench he can round out the exotics at a big number.
Free Arima Kinen Picks
You have your online betting account all set up, and you know who the leading contenders for both win and exotic places are. There’s now just one thing left to do: place your bets for the 2025 Arima Kinen!
These are the best bets for the 2025 Arima Kinen:
- $20 to win - #4 Museum Mile
- $1 exacta box - #4 Museum Mile with #5 Regaleira, #11 Mystery Way
- $0.50 trifecta key - #4 Museum Mile with #5 Regaleira, #9 Danon Decile, #11 Mystery Way, #12 Meiner Emperor
- $0.20 superfecta key - #4 Museum Mile with #5 Regaleira, #9 Danon Decile, #11 Mystery Way, #12 Meiner Emperor
