The Churchill Downs Stakes 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 ...

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 four-year-old and older sprinters run over a distance of seven

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

s on the dirt annually in early May 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 ...

racetrack in

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 ...

as an

undercard In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

event on

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. The event currently offers a purse of $750,000.

History

The inaugural running of the event was as the Churchill Downs Handicap took place on closing day of the Churchill Downs Spring meeting, June 6, 1911, as a three-year-old and over race over a distance of miles with five starters and was won by Carlton G. in track record time of 1:51 under jockey George Taplin for owner and trainer Lon Johnson. The following year longshot Any Port equalled the record 1:51 winning by lengths. The event was held once more at the miles distance in 1913 before the track would have the race mothballed until 1938. In 1938 the event was reinstated at a distance of seven furlongs but was extended to one mile for the 1940 running. Louise Hickman's Arab's Arrow would win the event three years straight including 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 (draw), tie and the competitors are awarde ...

victory with Kings Blue in 1939. In 1947 the event was held on opening day of the spring meeting at a shortened distance of seven furlongs. In 1949 the event only attracted four starters of which two were a

Calumet Farm Calumet Farm is a Thoroughbred breeding and training farm established in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. Calumet is located in the heart of the Bluegras ...

entry of Free America and the 1947

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Hor ...

Armed Armed (May, 1941–1964) was an American Thoroughbred gelding race horse who was the American Horse of the Year in 1947 and Champion Older Male Horse in both 1946 and 1947. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in ...

thus enabling Churchill Downs to hold the event as a non betting Exhibition Race. The 1951 before a crowd of 18,000 on opening day of the spring meeting the winner of the event was the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

based sprinter Johns Joy who broke the seven furlongs time record in 1:22 which was held by Distinction and stood since 1921. The distance of the event was decreased to six furlongs for four running held from 1952 to 1955. Soon after return to the now distance of seven furlongs, in 1958 Shac Pan set a new track record of 1:22 flat winning by a head over Ezgo. The event was held in split divisions twice - 1982 and 1985. In 1983 the conditions of the event were modified from handicap to stakes allowance for four-year-olds and older which reflect in the name of the event. Since 1986 the event has been scheduled on the same day as the

. In 1988 the event reverted to a handicap and was held with such conditions until 2006. In 1992 the event was classified as Grade III. The winner that year, 4/5 odds-on

Pleasant Tap {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Pleasant Tap , image = , caption = , sire = Pleasant Colony , grandsire = His Majesty , dam = Never Knock , damsire = Stage Door Johnny , sex = Stallion , foaled = 1987 , country = United States , ...

would also win the

Jockey Club Gold Cup The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It has traditionally been the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the sp ...

and the

Suburban Handicap The Suburban Stakes is an American Grade II Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is now run at the mile distance on dirt for a $700,000 purse. Named after the City and Su ...

and was awarded the U.S. Champion Older Male Horse. The event was upgraded to

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 ...

in 1998. That year the winner 7/5 favorite

Distorted Humor Distorted Humor (foaled March 19, 1993 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse and a successful sire. Bloodline Distorted Humor's sire is Forty Niner, 1987's Eclipse Award winning Outstanding Two-Year-Old Male Horse by the champio ...

set a new track of 1:21.18 winning by lengths over Gold Land. The track record was once again broken in this event in 2001 when Alannan won in a time of 1:20.50. That day on

Day, three track records were broken. The 2004 winner six-year-old

Speightstown Speightstown (), also known as ''Little Bristol'', is the second largest City centre of Barbados. It is situated north of the capital city of Bridgetown, in the northern parish of Saint Peter. The City is named after William Speight, a member o ...

continued his brilliant year capturing the

Breeders' Cup Sprint The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older. Run on dirt Corrected grade for Santa Anita sprintover a distance of 6 Furlongs ( mile), the race has been held annually si ...

and being crowned the U.S. Champion Sprinter. In 2007 the conditions of the event were changed from handicap to stakes allowance and the name of the event was modified to the Churchill Downs Stakes. 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 I status in 2019.

Mitole Mitole (foaled March 23, 2015) is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse who was foaled and raised at Hermitage Farm in Oldham County, Kentucky. He was named the American Champion Male Sprint Horse of 2019 after winning six of seven starts th ...

, the 2019 winner would also win the

Metropolitan Handicap The Metropolitan Handicap, frequently called the "Met Mile", is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of one mile (8 furl ...

Forego Stakes The Forego Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for horses four years old and older over the distance of seven furlongs on the dirt, scheduled annually in August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The event curr ...

and

and was crowned the U.S. Champion Sprinter.

Records

Speed record: *7

s – 1:20.50 Alannan (2001) *6

s – 1:10.60 Roaming (1953) *1 mile – 1:36.60 My Bill (1941) Margins: * 5 lengths – Barbizon Streak (1974), Dreadnought (1981) Most wins: * 3 – Arab's Arrow (1938, 1939, 1940) 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 ...

: * 5 – Steve Brooks (1947, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1959) Most wins by a trainer: * 3 – Gilbert Hardy (1938, 1939, 1940) * 3 –

William I. Mott William I. "Bill" Mott (born July 29, 1953, in Mobridge, South Dakota) is an American horse trainer, most notable for his work with Cigar. Mott earned the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer in 1995 and 1996. He was inducted into the National ...

(1983, 1985, 1999) Most wins by an owner: * 3 – Louise Hickman (1938, 1939, 1940) * 3 –

Dixiana Farm Dixiana Farm, founded in 1877, is an American Thoroughbred horse breeding farm in Lexington, Kentucky. It is the birthplace of Hall of Fame inductee Domino. In 1971 the Keeneland Association honored Dixiana Farm with its Keeneland Mark of Dis ...

(1950, 1952, 1973) * 3 – Albert M. Stall Sr. (1980, 1982, 1985)

Winners

''Notes:''
§ Ran as an entry
ƒ Filly or Mare
† In the 2002 running of the event Snow Ridge was first past the post but was disqualified due the rider

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 ...

accidentally striking D'wildcat's face with his whip as the runners approached the finishing post. D'wildcat was declared the winner.

External links

Churchill Downs Media Guide - $500,000 Churchill Downs

References

{{reflist, 2 Graded stakes races in the United States Open mile category horse races Churchill Downs horse races 1911 establishments in Kentucky Recurring sporting events established in 1911 Grade 1 stakes races in the United States Horse races in Kentucky

History

Records

Winners

See also

External links

References