Damian Lane has taken a major step towards becoming just the third foreign jockey to hold a full-time Japan Racing Association (JRA) licence, after passing the first stage of the JRA’s examination process.
The Australian sat a comprehensive exam in Japan last month and was notified in writing on Friday that he had passed. The exam was conducted in English and covered the rules of racing, Japanese racing law and history, JRA protocols, and included a spoken Japanese-language component.
Passing the first stage does not guarantee Lane a licence. He must clear a second stage in January, a final interview with JRA officials conducted in Japanese, after which a decision will be made on his application. If successful, he will join Christophe Lemaire and Mirco Demuro as the only foreign-born jockeys licensed to ride in Japan year-round.
“I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to sit the exam to start with, and to be able to pass this part of it is a proud moment for me,” Lane told Idol Horse. “Once again, I am very thankful to the JRA. It’s only stage one, though, and it doesn’t guarantee me a licence. I still have to clear the next step in January.”
If his application is successful, it is understood he will be able to ride from March 1, 2027.
The 32-year-old from Bunbury, Western Australia, has been one of the most successful international riders in Japan since his first ride there in April 2019. He said his ambition to ride there full-time had grown with each visit.
“The first reason I wanted to ride in Japan was to challenge myself, to continue to learn and become a better jockey,” Lane said. “But I quickly fell in love with the racing, the quality of the horses and everything that comes with Japanese racing. Then I fell in love with the country and its people.”
Lane and his wife Bonnie have taken their son, Charlie, who is nearly two, with them on recent trips to Japan. The JRA races on weekends, a lighter schedule than a leading jockey’s week in Victoria.
“My wife and I both love the culture, the people and the food, and more recently my son has come with us and he has taken it in his stride,” Lane said. “The lifestyle appeals to us. Racing two days a week means more family time for the three of us.”
International jockeys can ride in Japan on short-term licences, which are limited to three months in a calendar year, and riders must qualify for them through their results. Lane has used that system since 2019. A full-time licence carries no such limits but requires riders to pass the JRA’s examination process. Lemaire and Demuro became the first foreign jockeys to do so in 2015.
The process has proved a barrier for others. Joao Moreira failed the first stage in 2018, and French jockey Mickaelle Michel failed it in consecutive years in 2022 and 2023. Even Demuro needed a second attempt, having failed once before he passed.
“I understand why the process is the way it is,” Lane said. “It should be a privilege to ride on the JRA circuit, and the racing should be understood as much as it can be before you are given that privilege.
“The examination is comprehensive and it involves a lot of aspects of racing. It does take a lot of time and effort to prepare for it.”
Lemaire has described sitting his written exam in a classroom alongside apprentice jockeys, and said he broke down in tears of relief when he was told he had passed. The Frenchman has since won eight JRA jockeys’ championships.
Lane’s numbers in Japan are among the best of any visiting rider. He rode 38 winners at a strike rate of 30.2 per cent during his first stint in 2019 and has 213 JRA wins from 925 rides, a strike rate of 23 per cent. He reached 100 JRA wins in 427 rides, a figure bettered only by Joao Moreira.
He has won seven JRA Group 1 races. The first was the 2019 Victoria Mile on Normcore, in his third week riding in the country. Six weeks later he won the Takarazuka Kinen on the Yoshito Yahagi-trained mare Lys Gracieux, and he won the Cox Plate on her at Moonee Valley that October. The JRA then granted him a special one-day licence to ride her in the Arima Kinen at Nakayama, which she won by five lengths in her final start.
He has since added the 2022 Mile Championship on Serifos, the 2023 Tokyo Yushun on Tastiera, the 2025 Tenno Sho (Spring) on Redentor and this year’s NHK Mile Cup on Rodeo Drive. In all, he has won 20 graded races in Japan.
Lane has also become a go-to rider for Japanese stables when they travel. Along with the Cox Plate, he won the 2019 Caulfield Cup on Mer De Glace, the 2022 Hong Kong Vase on Win Marilyn and the 2025 QEII Cup on Tastiera at Sha Tin.
Lane is also one of Australia’s leading riders. He won the Melbourne jockeys’ premiership in 2023/24 with 88 city winners, and he has more than 35 Group 1 wins in total, including the 2019 Golden Slipper on Kiamichi. He said the exam had not changed his priorities for the coming weeks.
“My focus for now remains on a very important part of the Australian racing season,” Lane said. “Preparation for this exam has required a lot of time and effort, but it hasn’t taken my focus off my riding. My attention is on the spring carnival in Australia. I have a lot of great rides coming up and great supporters here.”
Last year Lane told Idol Horse it was “quite possible” he would pursue a long-term licence. At the time he said the decision was not straightforward because of the groundwork and commitment involved.
He said Japan’s racing fans, and their devotion to the horses, had been a large part of the pull.
“Part of why I fell in love with Japan and its racing was the fans and their support for the horse,” Lane said. “The focus of the fans is on the horse itself, and I relate to that. I love racing, but I love horses too, and I can see that the Japanese people do as well.”
Lane said he would now turn his attention to preparing for January’s interview.
“It is a really exciting time and there is still some more to play out, but I look forward to challenging myself,” he said. “My ambition to ride in the JRA has grown over the years, and I will dedicate myself to the next stage.” ∎
