There are two races for which runners are chosen by fan balloting in the Japan Racing Association calendar. One of them is the Arima Kinen (G1) at Nakayama Racecourse in December, which is widely recognized as the year-end championship race, and another one is Takarazuka Kinen (G1) at Hanshin Racecourse in June, which is final grade 1 in the first half of the year.
Voting result for the 66th running of the Takarazuka Kinen, carded for 2,200 meters (about 1 3/8 miles) June 15, which carries a total purse of ¥651 million (approx. US$4.34 million), will be announced by the JRA May 29. Bellagio Opera, a 5-year-old horse, currently tops the fan ballot with 228,950 votes..
Bellagio Opera by Lord Kanaloa was bred by Teruya Yoshida's Shadai Farm and bought by Shorai Hayashida at the 2022 Chiba Thoroughbred Sale of 2-Year-olds for ¥44.1 million (approx. US$294,000).
Trained by Hiroyuki Uemura, Bellagio Opera has won six of 12 starts, including four graded stakes. He achieved back-to-back wins of the Osaka Hai (G1) over 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) at Hanshin April 6 and has earned ¥823.7 million (approx. US$5.49 million).
Second in the fan ballot with 211,634 votes is Regaleira, a 4-year-old filly who is the winner of two grade 1s, including the Arima Kinen (G1) in December 2024. Urban Chic, the 4-year-old colt who won the Kikuka Sho (G1) in October 2024, is third in voting with 185,411. All of the first three horses in the fan ballot are intended runners for the Takarazuka Kinen.
