, Norihiro Yokoyama, and
Koichi Sato Norihiro started racing on March 1, 1986, and won his first race with Kioi God on April 29, 1986. He won his first GI race with Kyoei Tap in the 1990
Queen Elizabeth II Cup, and would go on to win the
Takarazuka Kinen the following year with Mejiro Ryan. Norihiro became a
Derby jockey in 2009, after 15 starts at the Derby in his 24 year long career, when he won the Japanese Derby with
Logi Universe. Later that year, on July 18, Norihiro won his 2000th
JRA win, the fifth JRA jockey to ever do so, when he won an allowance race held at
Sapporo Racecourse with Sugino Blade. In 2010, Norihiro won the
Yushun Himba in a
dead heat against
Apapane with Saint Emilion, which was the first Grade I race in Japan to end in such a way. Norihiro won his second Derby in 2014 when he won the race with
One And Only. Later that year, Norihiro won his 2500th JRA win after
Yutaka Take and
Yukio Okabe with in the inaugural race of the
Icho Stakes. On September 4, 2016, Norihiro became the fourth jockey to win a graded race on all 10 JRA racecourses following his victory with at the
Niigata Kinen (GIII). On September 2, 2023, Norihiro rode Power Hall at the
Sapporo Nisai Stakes. He finished 2nd in that race, but Takeshi won the same race, marking the first time in JRA history where a father and son finished first and second in a graded race. The following week, the reverse occurred on that year's
Shion Stakes where Norihiro won the race with while Takeshi came in second. This victory also made Norihiro, at age 55, the eldest jockey to have won a JRA graded race, previously held by
Yoshitomi Shibata when he won the
Leopard Stakes in 2021. On January 14, 2024, Norihiro broke his own record of the eldest JRA jockey to win a graded race when he won the
Keisei Hai with
Danon Decile. This race was also the third graded race ever where a father and son finished in first and second place, as Takeshi came in second with
Urban Chic. On May 5 of that year, Norihiro won his 2944th race at an allowance race at
Niigata Racecourse with Hawaiian Time, overtaking Yukio Okabe's previously held 2943 wins to become the JRA jockey with the second most win after Yutaka Take. On May 26, 2024, Norihiro won his third Derby ever with Danon Decile. This was the eldest jockey ever to win Japanese Derby and Grade I, surpassing Yutaka Take's previous record. == Major wins ==