Miyashita Retires From Riding, Pursues Training

The National Association of Racing announced Nov. 20 that Japan's winningest female jockey, Hitomi Miyashita, has retired from riding. Miyashita's grandfather owned a small breeding farm at Kagoshima in Kyushu, where Hitomi started pony riding as a child. In 1995, she was issued her professional jockey's license by the racing authority in Nagoya, the fourth-largest city in Japan. Her first winner came in October of that year. Since then, she has ridden 1,381 winners. Miyashita got married to fellow jockey Nobuyuki Oyama in 2005, and in 2011, she announced she was pregnant and quit riding. Five years and two kids later, she decided to ride again and re-obtained her license at Nagoya. In 2020, she achieved 100 wins and rode her 1,000th winner June 29, 2021. In 2024, she rode 106 winners, which was her career best. Miyashita won the NAR Female Jockey Award nine times and the NAR Award of Merit three times. She was awarded the Yellow Ribbon Medal at the Spring Conferment Decorations in 2024. The 48-year-old has already obtained her trainer license at Nagoya and intends to start operating her own stable in the coming months. A retirement ceremony for Miyashita will be held at Nagoya Racecourse Nov. 26.