JRA Special Award
The JRA Special Award is an award issued by the Japan Racing Association. Unlike most awards issued by the JRA, it is not awarded every year and is only awarded when there is a subject that deserves special recognition in a given year. While the main recipients are racehorses, it is occasionally awarded to individuals, such as in 2024, when Yutaka Take received the award for reaching 4,500 JRA wins in his jockey career. Equine recipients of the JRA Special Award must be selected by at least three-quarters of the selection committee and also must be approved by the chairman of the JRA, while human recipients are awarded only by the chairman of the JRA.
The predecessor of the Special Award was the Popularity Award, which was won by Haiseiko in 1973 when the JRA Awards were known as the Yūshun Awards. Later, in 1978, Ten Point received it as a Media Award, and Monte Prince in 1982 received the Dream Award. The name "Special Award" was first used when Amber Shadai was given the award in 1983. It was succeeded by the JRA Awards in 1987. In 2004, it was given the unique subtitle of "Special Fighting Award" when it was awarded to Cosmo Bulk.
Recipients during the Yūshun Awards era
| Year | Recipient | Sex | Age | Reason | Breeder | Trainer | Owner | Jockey |
| 1973 | Haiseiko | Stallion | 4 | Responsible for the first horse racing boom in Japan, which became known as the "Haiseiko Boom" due to his popularity. | Takeda Ranch | Katsutaro Suzuki | Horseman Club | Sueo Masuzawa |
| 1978 | Ten Point | Stallion | 6 | In response to his death which was caused by a fracture during the Nihon Keizai Shinshun Hai. After fracturing his leg, Ten Point underwent 43 days of treatment before his death. | Yoshida Ranch | Sasuke Ogawa | Hisanari Takada | Akira Shikato |
| 1982 | Monte Prince | Stallion | 6 | Monte Prince became known as the "uncrowned emperor" due to him placing in the top three of four of Japan's. In 1982, he won the Tennō Shō and the Takarazuka Kinen, his first wins which were a part of the Eight Major Races. | Kineusu Saito Farm | Kichisaburo Matsuyama | Kihachi Mori | Masato Yoshinaga |
| 1983 | Amber Shadai | Stallion | 7 | In 1983, Amber Shadai won the Tennō Shō in his fifth try. | Shadai Farm | Toshio Nihonyanagi | Yoshida Yoshiya | Kazuhiro Kato |