Ryusei Sakai
$530,100
2026 earnings
50%
2026 wins
$5,536,200
lifetime earnings
racing Record
2026 Stats
Career Stats
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1
Firsts
2
0
Seconds
1
0
Thirds
2
1
Unplaced
4
2
Starts
9
$530,100
Earnings
$5,536,200
$265,050
Earnings / Start
$615,133
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Bio
A native of Japan, Ryusei Sakai is already a household name on the international racing scene. He traveled to South Australia and rode in the prestigious Caulfield Cup at age 18 as an apprentice jockey. Late in 2022, Sakai scored his first Group 1 win in Japan’s Shuka Sho Stakes on a horse named Stunning Rose. Sakai enjoyed success in 2023 aboard Bathrat Leon, a multiple group stakes winner in Dubai and Saudi Arabia. Sakai's made his Kentucky Derby debut in 2023 aboard Coninuar, third in the UAE Derby Sponsored by Atlantis the Royal, won by fellow Japanese runner Derma Sotogake.
A native of Japan, Ryusei Sakai is already a household name on the international racing scene. He traveled to South Australia and rode in the prestigious Caulfield Cup at age 18 as an apprentice jockey. Late in 2022, Sakai scored his first Group 1 win in Japan’s Shuka Sho Stakes on a horse named Stunning Rose. Sakai enjoyed success in 2023 aboard Bathrat Leon, a multiple group stakes winner in Dubai and Saudi Arabia. Sakai's made his Kentucky Derby debut in 2023 aboard Coninuar, third in the UAE Derby Sponsored by Atlantis the Royal, won by fellow Japanese runner Derma Sotogake.
In 2024 and 2025, Sakai earned international acclaim as the jockey for Japan-bred and based Forever Young. The colt won seven of 10 races during that two-year span, including the Saudi Cup and Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2024. Forever Young also finished third by a head in the 2023 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, third in the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic, and third in the 2024 Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline.
