The National Association of Racing (NAR), the national level regulatory body for the Racing by Local Governments in Japan, has announced the 2010 NAR Grand Prix Awards for the year's outstanding horses, trainers and jockeys.

"Horse of the Year" for 2010 was Furioso (6-y-o horse, trained by Masayuki Kawashima, Funabashi). Furioso crowned a successful year in Dirt Grade (Principal Dirt) Races with a crushing victory over JRA heavyweights in the Teio Sho . He has now won Horse of the Year three times in all, after successes in 2007 and 2008.

Furioso was also named "Best Thoroughbred Older Colt or Horse".

"Best Thoroughbred 2-Year-Old" went to Kanemasa Concorde (2-y-o colt, trained by Yoshinori Doyama, Hokkaido). As well as winning the Hokkaido Nisai Yushun , Kanemasa Concorde showed his mettle with a battling 2nd place finish in the Hyogo Junior Grand Prix.

"Best Thoroughbred 3-Year-Old" was won by Magnifica (3-y-o colt, trained by Masayuki Kawashima, Funabashi), winner of the Japan Dirt Derby and best-performing 3-year-old for the year.

"Best Ban-ei (Draft) Horse" was awarded to Nishiki Daijin (9-y-o horse, trained by Shigeto Tsukidate, Ban-ei). This horse really came into his own in the heavy weight contests, including victory in the Ban-ei Kinen, the top race in this class.

"Best Thoroughbred Filly or Mare" was Yukichan (5-y-o mare, trained by Hiromi Yamazaki, Kawasaki), winner of the TCK Jo-o Hai.

" Best Thoroughbred Sprinter or Miler" went to Nike Madrid (4-y-o colt, trained by Masayuki Kawashima, Funabashi), runner-up in the 1,000-meter JBC Sprint with an impressive burst of speed.

There was no winner in the "Best Thoroughbred Turf Horse" category.

The "Dirt Grade (Principal Dirt) Race Special Prize" was awarded to Smart Falcon (5-y-o horse, trained by Ken Kozaki, JRA Ritto Training Center). This JRA horse won two big titles, the JBC Classic and Tokyo Daishoten .

The "Special Award" was won by Cosmo Bulk, a 9-y-o horse whose retirement was announced in 2010. During his career, Cosmo Bulk was consistently successful as the star of Hokkaido racing. Among other feats, he was the first NAR horse to win an overseas G1 race (the 2006 Singapore Airlines International Cup).

Winning Jockeys and Trainers

"Best Trainer (Races Won)" was Mamoru Tanaka (Kochi), winner of 238 races over the year. "Best Trainer (Money Earned)" went to Masayuki Kawashima (Funabashi), trainer of Furioso and others, who again outshone all rivals in 2010. "Best Trainer (Winning Average)" was Katsumi Degawa (Funabashi), who achieved a winning average of more than 36%. There was no winner in the "Grand Prize Trainer" category.

"Best Jockey (Races Won)" and "Best Jockey (Money Earned)" were both taken for the 2nd year running by Keita Tosaki (Ohi), who racked up 310 wins and culled more than 1.6 billion yen in prize money (including JRA results in both cases). "Best Jockey (Winning Average)" was comfortably won by Shuji Akaoka (Kochi), again for the 2nd straight year. "Grand Prize Jockey" was awarded to Isao Yamaguchi (Saga), the first Kyushu-affiliated jockey to lead NAR racing since Sumio Arima (formerly of Nakatsu) in 1985.

The "Best Apprentice Jockey" was Yuichi Shimizu (Saga), who made remarkable progress in his riding technique and rapidly rose to prominence with a string of victories.

"Best Female Jockey" was shared by Akane Yamamoto (Aichi) and Mai Beppu (Kochi), who finished the year with equally impressive records.

"Best Fair Play Jockey" was won for the first time by Manabu Tanaka (Hyogo), a consistent beacon of fair play in the fiercely-contested Hyogo racing circuit.

The "Special Award" went to Takumi Fujimoto (Ban-ei), who notched a remarkable 3,000th career win in 2010.

* Note: Ban-ei (Draft) races: run by "heavy" horses such as the sturdy Percherons, Bretons and Belgians. Ban-ei Horses pull a sleigh weighing any where from 1,000 pounds to one ton, along a 200-meter separated straight track over two small hills, which are located along the course.