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A field of 16 of the best horses in Japan line up for one of the best betting races of the year Saturday, December 28 at Nakayama: the Group 1 Arima Kinen! The 2,500-meter turf race features some of Japan’s biggest starts, both three-year-olds and older.
The race is different than the vast majority of races around the world: 10 of the 16 spots are determined by a vote, so racing fans can choose who they want to see! The top vote getter this year was Regaleira, a 4-year-old filly who won the 2024 Arima Kinen and will vie to become the first filly or mare to win the race twice. Other horses who took a lot of attention in the fan vote include Meisho Tabaru, Justin Palace, Museum Mile, Danon Decile, and Redentor.
The race, named for Nakayama racetrack founder Yoriyasu Arima, has been an integral part of the calendar since 1956. Some of Japan’s greatest horses over the years have won the Arima Kinen: Symboli Kris S, Heart’s Cry, Deep Impact, Orfevre, Gold Ship, Gentildonna, Kitasan Black, Equinox, and Do Deuce, to name a few.
Who looks primed to add their name to this list of superstars? Keep reading to find out, and to find out the best places for online horse racing betting on Arima Kinen day and beyond!
Where to Bet the Arima Kinen
Picking a winner in the Arima Kinen is important, but it’s just as important to make sure you maximize your profits when you win. That all starts with betting the Arima Kinen online at the right site. Choosing the best offshore sportsbook can seem daunting at first because there are so many choices, but we are here to make that choice easy and profitable.
Our online betting experts have reviewed the marketplace. All of the sites they recommend have the basics of a great experience: trusted deposits and payouts, market-leading odds, and smooth user interfaces. Every site also offers benefits you’ll never find at the track: sign-up and deposit bonuses, referral incentives, and horse racing rebates that pay you in cash or free bets for every wager you make.
Taking a few minutes now to find out which site offers the best sportsbook bonuses for your betting style can set you up to build your bankroll by hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Don’t leave this money on the table – read our reviews and boost your profits now!
Top Online Racebooks
These are the best racebooks for betting the Arima Kinen online:
Arima Kinen Horses
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)
Keep in mind that if you bet the Arima Kinen at a racetrack or OTB, your price will swing all the way until post time. Especially since international pools are not commingled with the huge pools in Japan, that leaves you vulnerable to major odds swings, meaning the price when you bet could drop precipitously compared to the real final price.
There is a better way: play the Arima Kinen at an online sportsbook! Since online sportsbooks offer fixed odds on many of the biggest races around the world, you can lock in your price simply by placing a bet. See an overlay, bet it, and know exactly what you’ll get when you win – it’s that simple!
These are the odds at the top of the Arima Kinen market.
 |  |  |
|
| Danon Decile | +250 | +250 | +250 |
| Regaleira | +275 | +275 | +275 |
| Museum Mile | +300 | +300 | +300 |
| Meisho Tabaru | +900 | +900 | +900 |
| Justin Palace | +1600 | +1600 | +1600 |
Free Arima Kinen Picks
You have your online betting account set up, so now it is time to get to know the top contenders for the 2025 Arima Kinen:
Arima Kinen Top Contenders
The top contenders in the Arima Kinen are Museum Mile and Regaleira. Neither would be a surprise to take top honors, but the nod goes to Museum Mile over the likely favorite.
A three-year-old facing older, Museum Mile has really grown into himself late in the 2025 season. The son of Leontes freshened up over the summer after being defeated in the Tokyo Yushun (G1), but picked up in even better form. He returned to the races beating Group 2 horses his own age going 2,200m at Nakayama, then faced older for the first time in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1), finishing second by less than a length.
The step up in trip is a question, but third off the lay he should be fit enough to tackle it, and he reliably finds a smart late run. This is enough to give him the nod at a bit longer price than the defending champion and top vote-getter Regaleira, who should also be running late. She comes into the race in smart form as well, coming in off a win in the Queen Elizabeth II (G1), the same race she won before her Arima Kinen triumph last year.
Arima Kinen Exotic Possibilities
It’s no puzzle why Mystery Way appeals at a long price in the Arima Kinen. There isn’t a lot of early speed in the race, and Mystery Way should be able to lead the field a long way. He comes into the race red-hot, winning three of his last four starts including his group-level debut last out at Tokyo. If he holds that form he can be the one who raises the exotic payouts.
You know what you’re going to get with Danon Decile – high class and an honest effort. He was third behind the truly special Calandagan in the Japan Cup (G1), and has earned his own Group 1 spoils in the Tokyo Yushun last year and the Dubai Sheema Classic (G1) this year. The distance suits him nicely, he’ll be fit second off the lay, and he’ll be part of the fray in the lane.
Another long shot for deeper exotics is Meiner Emperor. He is unraced since a fifth-place run in the Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1) in May, but was improving earlier in the year and starting to prove himself against Group company. His tactical speed gives him a pace edge on so many midpack-to-closing types in this field, and the cut back from the 3,200m of the Tenno Sho (Spring) last out to the 2,500m trip, at which he is already a Group 2 winner, appeals.
Arima Kinen Free Picks
You have your online betting account all set up, and you’ve gotten to know the top contenders in Sunday’s Arima Kinen. Now, all that’s left to do is the most fun part of all: place your bets!
These are the best bets for Sunday’s Arima Kinen at Nakayama:
- $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
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