The Commonwealth Stakes is a Grade III 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

horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

that are four years old or older, 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 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 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 ...

during the spring meeting. The event currently carries a purse of $300,000.

History

The inaugural running of the event was on 16 October 1987, during Keeneland's fall meeting as the Commonwealth Breeders' Cup Stakes as a six furlong dirt sprint for three year olds and older and was won by Exclusive Enough who was ridden by US Hall of Fame jockey

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 ...

. Exclusive Enough equaled the track record with his winning time of 1:08 and to date is the only three year old to have won the event. Between 1987 and 2007, the

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, ...

sponsored the event which reflected in the name of the event. Two years later, in 1989 Keeneland moved the event to their spring meeting in April and increased the distance to seven furlongs and changed the conditions of the event to only allow four year olds and older. The following year in 1990 the event was upgraded to Grade III status and in 1994 the event was upgraded once more

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 ...

. Between 2007 and 2014 the event was held on the synthetic Polytrack surface. In 2013 the event was downgraded to a Grade III event. The event was not held 2020 during Keeneland's spring meeting which was moved to July and shortened due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United States The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the Uni ...

Records

;Speed record * 1:20.40 –

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 ...

(1998) ;Margins * 6 lengths – Calestoga (1988) ;Most wins * 2 –

Black Tie Affair Black Tie Affair (April 1, 1986 – July 1, 2010) was a thoroughbred racehorse. Bred by American businessman Stephen D. Peskoff, he was out of the mare Hat Tab Girl and sired by Miswaki, who also sired Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Urban Sea ...

(1990, 1991) ;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 –

Edgar Prado Edgar S. Prado (Lima, June 12, 1967) is a Peruvian-born American jockey, a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame jockey in thoroughbred horse racing. His big break came in 1997 when he won 536 races, making him the fourth rider in history to win 500 races in ...

(2001, 2003, 2008) * 3 –

Joel Rosario Joel Rosario (born January 14, 1985) is a Champion jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing, originally from the Dominican Republic. In the space of five weeks in 2013 he rode the winners of the Dubai World Cup and the Kentucky Derby. More rec ...

(2012, 2017, 2021) ;Most wins by a trainer * 3 – Todd A. Pletcher (2003, 2004, 2011) ;Most wins by an owner * 2 – Jeff Sullivan (1990, 1991) * 2 –

Michael B. Tabor Michael Barry Tabor (born 28 October 1941) is a British businessman, bookmaker, gambler and owner of thoroughbred racehorses. Tabor regularly appears on the '' Sunday Times Rich List'' of the richest people in Britain. In 2012 his fortune ...

(2003, 2004)

Winners

''Legend:''

External links

2021 Keeneland Media Guide

References

{{Reflist, 2 Graded stakes races in the United States Grade 3 stakes races in the United States Open mile category horse races Keeneland horse races Recurring sporting events established in 1987 1987 establishments in Kentucky

History

Records

Winners

See also

External links

References