The Cotillion 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 at Parx Racing and Casino in

Bensalem, Pennsylvania Bensalem Township is a township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The township borders the northeastern section of Philadelphia and includes the communities of Andalusia, Bensalem, Bridgewater, Cornwells Heights, Eddington, Flushing, Oakford, Sil ...

. It is run in late September or early October as a prelude to the annual

Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships 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, ...

. The race is open to three-year-old filles, willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles (eight and a half

furlongs 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 ...

) on the dirt. The

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 carries a purse of US$1 million. From 2006 to 2010 it was called the Fitz Dixon Cotillion to honor

Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr. Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr. (August 14, 1923 – August 2, 2006) was an American educator, sportsman, and philanthropist. Early life He was the son of banker Fitz Eugene Dixon Sr. and Eleanor Widener (1891-1966), a member of the wealthy Widener family ...

of the prominent

Widener family The Widener family is an American family from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded by Peter Arrell Browne Widener (1834–1915) and his wife, Hannah Josephine Dunton (1836–1896), it was once one of the wealthiest families in the United ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, who have been major figures in Thoroughbred racing since the early part of the 20th century. This race, which was inaugurated in 1969 at Liberty Bell Park in Northeast

before thoroughbred racing moved to the then-Keystone Racetrack (later known as Philadelphia Park) in nearby Bensalem in

Bucks County, Pennsylvania Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the Englis ...

, has produced multiple

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected American ...

winners including

Shuvee Shuvee (January 22, 1966 – April 1, 1986) was an American Thoroughbred Eclipse Award, Champion National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame horse racing, racehorse. Background Shuvee was a chestnut mare bred in Virginia by Whitney ...

Susan's Girl Susan's Girl (1969–October 18, 1988) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, bred and owned by Fred W. Hooper. She was the first American filly to earn over $1,000,000. Racing career Racing as a two-year-old in 1971, Susan's Girl came up agains ...

Revidere Revidere (foaled in 1973 in Kentucky) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that was voted the 1976 Eclipse Award as the American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly.Her sire was Reviewer, who is best known as the sire of champion filly Ruffian. Her d ...

, Ashado, Havre de Grace, and

Untapable Untapable (foaled 13 February 2011) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. She showed promise as a two-year-old in 2013 when she won two of her four races including the Pocahontas Stakes and was placed in the Starlet Stakes. In 2014 she emerge ...

. There Was No Running In 2020.

Records

Speed record: * 1:40.93 – Havre de Grace (2010) 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 ...

: * 4 –

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 ...

(2000, 2013, 2016, 2018) Most wins by a trainer: * 5 – Steven M. Asmussen (2012, 2014, 2018, 2021, 2022) Most wins by an owner: * 3 – Fox Hill Farms (2000, 2010, 2016)

Winners

† In 1987,

Sacahuista {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Sacahuista , image = , caption = , sire = Raja Baba , grandsire = Bold Ruler , dam = Nalees Flying Flag , damsire = Hoist The Flag , sex = Filly , foaled = 1984 , country = United States , colour ...

won the race but was disqualified for interference and set back to second. † In 2018,

Monomoy Girl Monomoy Girl (foaled March 26, 2015) is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly of 2018 and Champion Older Female Horse of 2020. She showed very promising form as a juvenile in 2017 when she wo ...

won the race but was disqualified for interference and set back to second.

References

The Cotillion Handicap at Pedigree Query

The Cotillion Handicap at the NTRA

The Cotillion Handicap at Philadelphia Park

{Dead link, date=September 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Graded stakes races in the United States Mile category horse races for fillies and mares Horse races in Pennsylvania Recurring sporting events established in 1969 Parx Casino and Racing Widener family Flat horse races for three-year-old fillies 1969 establishments in Pennsylvania