The Ashland Stakes is an 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 ...

held annually in early April at

Keeneland Race Course Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for i ...

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

, United States. It and the Ashland Oaks, the

Kentucky Association The Kentucky Association (also known as the Kentucky Racing Association E. Polk Johnson, ''A Hist ...

racetrack's predecessor race, were named for Ashland, the homestead and breeding farm of statesman

Henry Clay Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state, al ...

. Restricted to three-year-olds

fillies A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

the race is currently run at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles. The race is a

Grade I 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 ...

event with a current purse of $500,000 and has been a prep race to the

Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing The Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing, formerly known as the Filly Triple Crown, is a set of three horse races in the United States which is open to three-year-old fillies. Presently the only official Triple Tiara is the three race series in New Y ...

, including the

Kentucky Oaks The Kentucky Oaks is a Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred Filly, fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers at Churchill Downs; the horses carry . The Kentucky O ...

, the

Black-Eyed Susan Stakes The George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies run over a distance of miles on the dirt annually at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. The event currently offers a ...

and

Mother Goose Stakes The Mother Goose Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Raced on dirt in late June or early July, the race currently offers a purse of $300,000. Inaugurated in 1957 at a mi ...

. Part of the 1936 inaugural events for the new Keeneland Race Course, the first two editions of the Ashland Stakes were open to fillies and mares, 3-years of age and older. Not run again until 1940, it was then made a race exclusively for 3-year-old fillies. During World War II, from 1943 through 1945 the race was hosted by

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 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 Ashland Stakes was run in two heats in 1952, 1965, 1974 and 1980.

Don Brumfield Donald Alan "Don" Brumfield (born May 24, 1938) is a retired American jockey from Kentucky. During his thirty-five-year career, Brumfield won 4,573 races in 33,222 rides. He retired from racing in 1989. Brumfield was the "track all-time leading r ...

is the only jockey to ever have won both heats. In the 1974 edition, Brumfield rode to victory on Winged Wishes, a horse owned by his mother, Viola, then took the second running aboard

Darby Dan Farm Darby Dan Farm is a produce, livestock, and thoroughbred horse breeding and training farm founded in 1935 near the Darby Creek in Galloway, Ohio by businessman John W. Galbreath. Named for the creek and for Galbreath's son, Daniel M. Galbreath (19 ...

's, Maud Muller. Since its inception, the Ashland Stakes has been raced at various distances: * 1936–1937, 1981 to present : miles * 1940–1973 : 6 furlongs * 1974–1980 : 7 furlongs, 184 feet In 2014, the Ashland finished in a

Dead heat A dead heat is a rare situation in various racing sports in which the performances of competitors are judged to be so close that no difference between them can be resolved. The result is declared a tie and the competitors are awarded a joint ra ...

between Rosalind and Room Service.

Records

;Speed record at current distance * 1:41.26 – miles set by

Speech Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses Phonetics, phonetic combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all English words sound different from all French words, even if ...

in 2020. ;Most wins by an owner * 3 – Calumet Farm (1948, 1952, 1980) & Cain Hoy Stable (1957, 1959, 1963) ;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 –

Bill Shoemaker William Lee Shoemaker (August 19, 1931 – October 12, 2003) was an American jockey. For 29 years he held the world record for total professional jockey victories. Early life Referred to as "Bill", "Willie," and "The Shoe", William Lee Sho ...

(1964, 1981, 1982) * 3 –

(1974 (2), 1984) * 3 –

Randy Romero Randy Paul Romero (December 22, 1957 – August 29, 2019) was a National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame jockey in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing. Born into a family involved with horses, his father Lloyd J. Romero was a ...

(1980, 1985, 1990) * 3 –

Shane Sellers Shane Jude Sellers (born September 24, 1966 in Erath, Louisiana) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. At age eleven, he began working around horses and in 1983 rode his first winner at Evangeline Downs. Sellers won several national ...

(1991, 1993, 2000) ;Most wins by a trainer * 4 –

Woody Stephens Woody Stephens (September 1, 1913 – August 22, 1998) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame trainer. Biography Born Woodford Cefis Stephens in Stanton, Kentucky, he had a younger brother named William Ward Stephens who also b ...

(1949, 1957, 1959, 1963)

Winners of the Ashland Stakes since 1969

*1972 – Hempens Song Disqualified from first and placed eighth.

Earlier winners

*1968 – Miss Swapsco *1967 – Dun-Cee *1966 – Justakiss *1965 – Terentia *1965 – Bright Bauble *1964 – Blue Norther *1963 – Sally Ship *1962 – Windy Miss *1961 – Goldflower *1960 – Tingle *1959 – Hidden Talent *1958 – Ramadel *1957 – Jota Jota *1956 –

Doubledogdare Doubledogdare (1953–1974) was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. Bred and raced by the renowned Claiborne Farm of Bull Hancock, she was sired by Double Jay, the American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt of 1946 and a four-time Leading bro ...

*1955 – Insouciant *1954 – Jenjay *1953 – Cerise Reine *1952 – Free For Me *1952 –

Real Delight Real Delight (1949–1969), was an American Thoroughbred race horse 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 c ...

*1951 – Sickle's Image *1950 – Wondring *1949 – Tall Weeds *1948 – Bewitch *1947 – Cosmic Missile *1946 – Sweet Caprice *1945 – Come And Go *1944 – Harriet Sue *1943 – Valdina Marl *1942 – The Swallow *1941 – Valdina Myth *1940 – June Bee *1939 – No race *1938 – No race *1937 – Drowsy *1936 – Myrtlewood

References

{{reflist Keeneland horse races Flat horse races for three-year-old fillies Grade 1 stakes races in the United States Graded stakes races in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1936 1936 establishments in Kentucky

Records

Winners of the Ashland Stakes since 1969

Earlier winners

See also

References