The Blue Grass Stakes, currently the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes due to sponsorship by the

Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

, is a horse race for 3-year-old

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

s held annually in April at

Keeneland Racecourse 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 its ...

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 ...

. The race is run at miles on the dirt and currently offers a purse of $1,000,000. The Blue Grass Stakes was a Grade I event from 1974 (when grading was first introduced) through 1989 and again from 1999 to 2016. It was a Grade II event from 2017-2021, and returned to a Grade I in 2022. It was named for the

Bluegrass region The Bluegrass region is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It makes up the central and northern part of the state, roughly bounded by the cities of Frankfort, Paris, Richmond and Stanford. The Bluegrass region is characteriz ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, characterized by grass having bluish-green culms, which is known as the "heart" of the thoroughbred racing industry. First run at the

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

track in Lexington in 1911, the Blue Grass has, from its inception, served as an important prep for 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 ...

. At the Lexington Association track, the Blue Grass was staged from 1911 through 1914 and from 1919 through 1926.''Daily Racing Form'', 1945-06-02, Lexington Association's Blue Grass Stakes history
/ref> The race was revived at

Keeneland 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 it ...

in the spring of 1937. In 1943–1944, the Blue Grass was renewed as a part of the Keeneland-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 ...

meeting. In 1945, the Blue Grass was run as part of the Churchill Downs meeting. Today it is part of the Keeneland program. From 2007 to 2014, the race was held on a synthetic "all-weather" surface. Otherwise, it has been run on a dirt surface.

Records (Keeneland)

Fastest Time: (at Current Distance of miles) * 1:47.20 –

Skip Away Skip Away (April 4, 1993 – May 14, 2010), was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 1998 Horse of the Year, 1996 Champion Three-Year-Old, and 1997 and 1998 Champion Handicap Horse. He won 10 Grade One races for $9,616,360 in ...

(1996) ;Most wins by an owner * 6 – Calumet Farm (1938, 1943, 1947, 1948, 1968, 1978) ;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 ...

* 6 –

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 ...

(1959, 1960, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1982) Most wins by a trainer: (tied) * 3 – Ben A. Jones (1943, 1947, 1948) * 3 –

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, 1954, 1974) * 3 –

LeRoy Jolley LeRoy S. Jolley (January 14, 1938 – December 18, 2017) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred horse trainer. The son of horse trainer Moody Jolley, LeRoy Jolley had been around horses all his life and at age nineteen received a New York State ...

(1962, 1976, 1977), * 3 –

Nick Zito Nicholas Philip Zito (born February 6, 1948, in New York City, New York) is an American Thoroughbred horse trainer. Zito began his career as a hot walker and worked his way up to a groom, to an assistant trainer, and to a trainer. His first top ...

(1991, 1998, 2004) * 3 –

Todd Pletcher Todd Pletcher (born June 26, 1967 in Dallas, Texas) is an American thoroughbred horse trainer. He won the Eclipse Award seven times as Trainer of the Year, four of these in consecutive years. His horses Super Saver (2010) and Always Dreaming (20 ...

(2005, 2008, 2015)

Winners

* 1951 – The race was made up of two heats. Sonic won the second heat but was disqualified and placed fourth.

Winners of the Lexington Association Blue Grass Stakes

References

{{reflist

External links

Toyota Blue Grass Stakes official website

Keeneland official website

NTRA entry on Toyota Blue Grass Stakes
Keeneland horse races Flat horse races for three-year-olds Triple Crown Prep Races Grade 2 stakes races in the United States Graded stakes races in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1911 1911 establishments in Kentucky

Records (Keeneland)

Winners

Winners of the Lexington Association Blue Grass Stakes

See also

References

External links