The American Turf Stakes is a

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Thoroughbred horse race Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

for three-year-olds run over a distance of miles on

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricultu ...

held annually in early May on the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

day meeting at

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

during the spring meeting.

History

The event was inaugurated on 2 May 1992 as the fourth race on the undercard of the

day meeting. The event was won by Senor Tomas who run as a Peter Vestal trained entry with Correntino in a time of 1:43.10. The event was sponsored by

Crown Royal Crown Royal, also known as Seagram's Crown Royal, is a blended Canadian whisky brand created by Seagram and owned by Diageo since 2000. Production of Crown Royal is done at Gimli, Manitoba, while the blending and bottling of the whisky are done ...

from 1995 to 1998 and more recently by

Ram Trucks Ram Trucks, stylized as RAM and formerly known as the Ram Truck Division (of Chrysler), is an American brand of light to mid-weight trucks and other commercial vehicles, and a division of Stellantis (previously Fiat Chrysler Automobiles). It was ...

from 2011 to 2019. The event was classified as Grade III in 1998. The

American Graded Stakes Committee {{short description, Organization for Thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeders The American Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) based in Lexington, Kentucky is a trade organization for Thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeders. ...

upgraded the race to its current Grade II status in 2010. The most notable winner of the event is the 2004 winner

Kitten's Joy Kitten's Joy (May 8, 2001 – July 15, 2022) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who was a multiple graded stakes winner and the American Champion Turf Horse of 2004. Since retiring to stud, he became one of the leading sires in North America and ha ...

who as a three-year-old went on to finish second in the

Breeders' Cup Turf The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's current ...

Better Talk Now Better Talk Now (February 25, 1999 – June 27, 2017) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the Breeders' Cup Turf in 2004. His racing career stretched over nine seasons, during which he won 14 times, five of them Grade ...

and was voted as the U.S. Champion Male Turf Horse. His offspring have won this event three times: Banned (2011), Divisidero (2015) and Camelot Kitten (2016).

Records

Speed record: * miles: 1:40.93 - Royal Strand (IRE) (1997) Margins * lengths - Banned (2001) Most wins by a

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

: * 3 -

Mike E. Smith Michael Earl Smith (born August 10, 1965) is an American jockey who has been one of the leading riders in U.S. Thoroughbred racing since the early 1990s, was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2003, and has won the ...

(1992, 1994, 2017) * 3 - Gary L. Stevens (1995, 1998, 2014) * 3 -

Jerry D. Bailey Jerry D. Bailey (born August 29, 1957 in Dallas, Texas) is an NBC Sports thoroughbred racing analyst and a retired American Hall of Fame jockey. Early years Bailey was born in Dallas but raised in El Paso. He had a pony as a child and became ...

(1999, 2000, 2004) * 3 - Garrett K. Gomez (2008, 2010, 2011) Most wins by a trainer: * 3 - Dale L. Romans (2004, 2007, 2012) * 3 -

Chad C. Brown Chad C. Brown (born December 18, 1978) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer known for his expertise with turf horses and with fillies and mares. He has trained ten Eclipse Award winners including Stacelita, Big Blue Kitten, Lady Eli, ...

(2013, 2016, 2019) Most wins by an owner: * 2 - Thomas Carey (1992, 1994) * 2 -

Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey Kenneth L. "Ken" Ramsey (born 1935) and Sarah Kathern "Kitten" Ramsey (February 5, 1939 – May 29, 2022) are horse breeders and owners of Thoroughbred race horses. They have multiple graded stakes winners, three Breeders' Cup winners, and the R ...

(2008, 2011) * 2 -

Glen Hill Farm Leonard H. Lavin (October 29, 1919 – August 2, 2017) was an American businessman, racehorse owner and breeder, and philanthropist, who, in 1955 founded the Alberto-Culver Company.

(2011, 2014)

Winners

''Notes:''
§ Ran as an entry
† In the 1993 running Compadre was first past the post but hung in the straight causing interference to the second place finisher Desert Waves and was disqualified and placed second.

External site

2019 Churchill Downs Media Guide - $400,000 American Turf

References

{{reflist, 2 Graded stakes races in the United States Turf races in the United States Flat horse races for three-year-olds Churchill Downs horse races Grade 2 stakes races in the United States Horse races in Kentucky Recurring sporting events established in 1992 1992 establishments in Kentucky

History

Records

Winners

See also

External site

References