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Japanese horse racing has been on the precipice of breaking through on the U.S. scene. It seemed like it was almost there in 2021 when it won three Breeders’ Cup races. But after that it leveled off.

Through 10 races at this year’s Breeders’ Cup, horses from Japan underperformed. But in the 11th, the most important race in the two-day event, the breakthrough became official when Forever Young held off Sierra Leone, last year’s winner, to win the $7-million Breeders’ Cup Classic by a half-length.

The last time we saw Forever Young in this country was a year ago when the 4-year-old colt finished third in the Classic. Before that, he was third in the Kentucky Derby by a whisker while

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