Queen Stakes  The Queen Stakes (Japanese クイーンステークス) is a Grade 3 horse race for Thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three and over, run in July over a distance of 1800 metres on turf at Sapporo Racecourse. The Queen Stakes was first run in 1953 and has held Grade 3 status since 1984. The distance of the race was originally 2000 metres but was reduced to 1800 metres in 1996. The race was usually run at either Tokyo Racecourse or Nakayama Racecourse before moving to its current venue in 2000.