The Aristides Stakes is a Listed American

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 and older over a distance of six furlongs on the dirt held annually in early June 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 ...

. . The race currently offers a purse of $100,000.

History

The Aristides Stakes is named in honor of the

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

Aristides Aristides ( ; grc-gre, Ἀριστείδης, Aristeídēs, ; 530–468 BC) was an ancient Athenian statesman. Nicknamed "the Just" (δίκαιος, ''dikaios''), he flourished in the early quarter of Athens' Classical period and is remember ...

who won the inaugural

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 ...

in 1875 on the Churchill Downs track. The race itself was inaugurated in 1989 and run at a distance of furlongs. Bet on Sunshine, the only two-time winner in the race's history, set a new track record of 1:15.11 for furlongs in 2000 then in 2001 beat his own record with a time of 1:14.79. At its current six-furlong distance, Kelly's Landing ran the fastest six furlongs in Churchill Downs history when he won the 2005 edition in a time of 1:07.59.

Winners since 1989

References

{{reflist
Breeders Cup.com article on the 2007 Aristides Breeders' Cup Stakes
Graded stakes races in the United States Open sprint category horse races Churchill Downs horse races 1989 establishments in Kentucky Recurring sporting events established in 1989 Previously graded stakes races in the United States