Japan Racing Association announced today that Vodka was named Horse of the Year for the year of 2009. The Horse of the Year title is the highest honor given to JRA-registered race horses and is selected by the Horse of the Year Selection Committee represented by journalists of various dailies and magazines.

Vodka won her title by a comfortable margin with 246 votes of the 287 votes cast and was also unanimously voted Best Older Filly or Mare. Having also won the 2008 Horse of the Year,

Vodka became the first female to claim the title twice. She has also won the JRA award in at least one category throughout her career in the past four seasons since 2006.

The second-best consideration for the Horse of the Year was Dream Journey, the winner of the Takarazuka Kinen (G1) and the Arima Kinen (G1), gained 26 votes—he won the Best Older Colt or Horse award. Vodka, the highest earning mare, has always been a record-breaking female since her debut in 2006. After scoring many resounding victories including becoming the first filly to win Japanese Derby in 64 years,

Vodka currently has seven grade 1 titles under her belt, which is the highest number for a female. Among her seven G1 victories, six were scored at Tokyo Racecourse including two consecutive Yasuda Kinen titles from 2008 to 2009. Leaving behind many accomplishments, Vodka will be retiring after competing in Dubai in March this year to become a broodmare. The Special Award this year was given to Company, who became the first-ever in JRA history to score a G1 victory, in his case twice, at the age of eight. In the Tenno Sho Autumn, Company beat the defending champion Vodka and upset the field of top-caliber horses.

The Special Award is only given in years when there are candidates, who displayed outstanding performance beyond existing categories. Company was a unanimous choice by the committee.

The winners of all ten awards were won by vote totals exceeding 220, among which Vodka and Apapane secured all 287 votes cast for the Best Older Mare and the Best Two-Year-Old Filly, respectively. Buena Vista, a sensational filly who won two legs of the filly’s triple crown races, obtained 286 votes for the Best Three-Year-Old Filly. Trainer Kazuo Fujisawa, the 12-time winner of the JRA Award for most wins, added another title in two years to his growing list. In September, he became the 13th trainer to reach the milestone of 1,000 wins, making him the fastest and youngest to claim that record in JRA history.

Vodka’s trainer, Katsuhiko Sumii, also won the Best Trainer Award for training technique. Hidetaka Otonashi, Company’s trainer, was the winner of Best Trainer Award for money earned. Hiroyuki Uchida, the winner of Best Jockey Award for most wins, broke the record of Yasunari Iwata for most mounts earned in a single season and recorded 955 mounts as of December 20. Kohei Matsuyama, who debuted in March 2009, received the Best Newcomer award.

The Equine Culture Award, which recognizes noteworthy achievements and contributions to Japanese equine culture, was presented to “A Social History of Horse Racing 1: The Birth of Japanese Race Tracks and the Flutter of Betting Tickets in the Age of "Civilization and Enlightenment" ” by Kenji Tachikawa.

The Equine Culture Award of Merit went to Hisae Imai, a well-known horse photographer, who has passed away last February, to honor her devotions and contributions to the equine culture.