The Most Thrilling Two Minutes in World Racing — From the Jockey's Seat
There are horse races. Then there are moments that make you remember exactly why you fell in love with this sport.
The video below is one of those moments. Filmed from a camera worn by jockey Yutaka Take aboard Do Deuce, it captures the 2024 Japan Cup — one of the richest and most prestigious races in the world — from a perspective that no grandstand view, no broadcast camera, and no highlight reel has ever been able to match. You're right there in the saddle, feeling the surge, watching the field part in front of you, experiencing the controlled chaos of 14 of the world's best horses competing for a $7 million prize.
It's no surprise this footage became the most-watched video on the official JRA YouTube channel in 2024, racking up over 2.3 million views. Once you press play, you'll understand why.
The Race That Had Everything
On paper, the 2024 Japan Cup looked straightforward. Do Deuce — the reigning Tenno Sho champion, a five-time Grade 1 winner, and the race favorite — lined up in a field that included three elite European invaders: King George winner Goliath, six-time Group 1 hero Auguste Rodin, and Grosser Preis Von Baden winner Fantastic Moon. Tokyo Racecourse was packed with 79,720 fans. The stage was set.
Then the race began — and immediately threw the form book out the window.
Nobody wanted to lead. The pace crawled. The opening half-mile was covered in a glacial 50 seconds, leaving the entire field bunched together like rush hour traffic, every jockey waiting, watching, calculating. Shin Emperor eventually took up the running at long odds of 32-1, with Sol Oriens for company. Durezza sat in behind, patient and dangerous.
And Do Deuce? The favorite was stone last, 13th of 14, tucked away at the back under Take's composed hands. To anyone watching without knowing the ending, this looked like the setup for an upset.
The Move That Won the Race
Midway around the final turn, something shifted. Take began to ease Do Deuce off heels, edging wide, away from the traffic, finding space on the outside of the field. At the 600-meter mark the horse was still in a crowd. At 300 meters out, he was in front.
The surge was extraordinary. Do Deuce posted the fastest final 600 meters of any horse in the race — a blistering 32.7 seconds — sweeping from last to first in what felt like a single breath. He hit the front, dug in as both Durezza and Shin Emperor threw everything at him, and held on to win by a neck. The two pursuers were so inseparable at the line that they were declared a dead heat for second.
The roar that followed was unlike anything a regular broadcast captures. Nearly 80,000 fans erupted, then immediately fell into a rhythmic chant — Yu-ta-ka, Yu-ta-ka, Yu-ta-ka — honoring a 55-year-old riding legend who had just claimed his record fifth Japan Cup win, 25 years after his first.
Why the Jockey Cam Changes Everything
Most of us watch horse racing from the outside looking in — from the rail, from the stands, from our screens at home. The jockey cam flips that completely.
What you see in this footage isn't the polished, wide-angle sweep of a TV broadcast. It's raw and immediate — the mass of horses ahead of you, the sounds of the race, the sudden acceleration when Take finally asks Do Deuce the question. You feel the width of the course as he swings wide. You watch the field dissolve as the horse hits top gear. For a few unforgettable seconds, you're not a spectator. You're riding.
That's a perspective horse racing fans rarely get, and it's one that reminds you how much decision-making, athleticism, and nerve goes into what looks — from the outside — like simply steering a horse around a track.
This is What Betting on Horse Racing Feels Like
Here's the thing about that race from a betting perspective: the favorite won — but nothing about it felt certain until it was over.
At the top of the stretch, with Do Deuce still buried in the pack and Durezza hitting the front, anyone who had backed him was sweating. That's horse racing. Even with the best horse in the field, ridden by one of the greatest jockeys alive, backed at the shortest price in the race, there's a moment — often several moments — where you're not sure. The slowness of the early pace opened the door for every closer in the field. The wide trip cost ground. The neck margin at the wire was enough and no more.
That tension — the slow pace, the late move, the dead heat for second, the crowd holding its breath — is the engine that drives horse racing's excitement. A bet on Do Deuce wasn't a sure thing. It was a calculated read on a horse with a proven class advantage, in a race where the setup could easily have gone wrong. It almost did. It didn't. And that's the thrill.
Whether you're watching the Japan Cup, the Kentucky Derby, or the next card at your nearest track, this is why horse racing captures people in a way few sports can match. The outcome is never written until the wire.
Sadly, you can’t yet bet on Japanese racing at MyWinners, but there’s still hundreds of events on the card every day. Place bets at app.mywinners.com, download the MyWinners: Racing & Sports app on iOS here or Android here, or find your nearest Winners venue in CT.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Japan Cup?
The Japan Cup is one of the world's richest horse races, held annually at Tokyo Racecourse over a distance of 2,400 meters (approximately 1½ miles). It is an international Grade 1 event with a prize purse exceeding one billion yen, attracting top thoroughbreds from Japan and around the world.
Who won the 2024 Japan Cup?
Do Deuce, ridden by legendary Japanese jockey Yutaka Take, won the 2024 Japan Cup. He closed from last place to win by a neck over Shin Emperor and Durezza, who finished in a dead heat for second place.
Who is Yutaka Take?
Yutaka Take is widely considered the greatest jockey in Japanese racing history. Now in his mid-50s, he has ridden in Japan for nearly four decades and has won virtually every major race in the country multiple times. His 2024 Japan Cup victory was a record fifth win in that race, and the crowd's chant of "Yu-ta-ka" after the finish spoke to the scale of his legend.
What made the 2024 Japan Cup so exciting from a betting perspective?
Despite being the race favorite, Do Deuce sat last for most of the race while the pace crawled. With Durezza leading into the straight and multiple horses in contention, the outcome was far from clear until the final 100 meters. Even favorites can be nerve-wracking to back in horse racing — and that unpredictability is exactly what makes it so compelling.
Where can I bet on international horse racing at MyWinners?
MyWinners offers pari-mutuel betting on top international racing events including major races from Japan, Europe, and beyond. Visit MyWinners.com to check the current racing schedule and available betting markets.
Video and images are the property of the Japan Racing Association (JRA). All rights reserved. Content is shared for editorial and informational purposes.
