Haneda Hai


The Haneda Hai is a Japanese thoroughbred horse race on dirt track only for three year old horses. It is graded as a Domestic Grade I. It is run over a distance of 1,800 meters at Oi Racecourse in Shinagawa, Tokyo in April or May.

History

It began in 1955 as the Oi Hai. Its name was changed to Haneda Hai in commemoration of Haneda racecourse which used to be situated next to Shinagawa.
Its distance has been changed several times. It has been run as follows:
  • from its inception until 1966 at 1,800 meters
  • from 1967 to 1995 at 2,000 meters
  • from 1996 to 1998 at 1,800 meters
  • from 1999 to 2001 at 1,600 meters
  • from 2002 to 2003 at 1,790 meters
  • from 2004 onwards at 1,800 meters
Until 2023, this race was the first leg of the South Kanto triple crown with Tokyo Derby and Japan Dirt Derby and only horses belonging to Minami-Kanto Horseracing could run.

Dirt Grade Promotion

The race was promoted to Domestic Grade 1 along with Tokyo Derby in 2024. Formerly the first leg of the South Kanto Triple Crown, it became the first leg of new Japanese Triple Crown of Dirt. Entries were expanded to 16 horses with 4 JRA horses and 12 NAR horses.

Trial races

Trial races provide automatic berths to the winning horses or placed horses as specified.
RaceGradeRacecourseDistanceCondition
Bluebird CupJpnIIIFunabashi1,800 metersWinner that belongs to NAR
Kumotori ShoJpnIIIOi1,800 metersTop 2 of the best that placed 1st to 5th that belongs to JRA
Top 2 that belongs to NAR regardless of placing
Starburst CupOpenOi2,000 metersWinner
Keihin HaiJpnIIOi1,700 metersTop 2 of the best that placed 1st to 5th that belongs to JRA
Top 2 that belongs to NAR regardless of placing
Classic TrialSpecialOi1,800 metersWinner

Winners since 2004