The Illinois Derby is a race for

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 ...

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 ...

for three year olds run over a distance of one and one-eighth miles (9 furlongs) on the dirt at

Hawthorne Race Course Hawthorne Race Course is a racetrack for horse racing in Stickney/Cicero, Illinois, near Chicago. The oldest continually run family-owned racetrack in North America, in 2009 the Horseplayers Association of North America introduced a rating syst ...

in Stickney/Cicero, Illinois, just west of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in early April each year. The event was first run in 1923 at the

. The purse is $250,000.

History

The race was named in honor of the home state in which it was run, the state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. The inaugural running of the race took place at Hawthorne in 1923 and was won by In Memoriam, the 3 year-old champion with Zev that year. The race was then run at Sportsman's Park from 1924 through 1931. It moved to

Aurora Downs History Aurora Downs was a horse racing facility in Aurora, Illinois, that hosted thoroughbred racing and harness racing events as early as 1891. The Downs was originally a half-mile track named Aurora Driving Park, located north of Illinois Avenu ...

racetrack in 1932 and was run there until 1938. In 1939 the race went on hiatus until through 1962. Then the race was revived at Sportsman's Park Racetrack again in 1963 where it remained through its 2002 running. The race was not run 1939-1962 and 1970-1971. The race was first graded in 1973 when the grading system started as a grade three stakes race and in 1997 was elevated to a grade two stakes race. The inaugural running of the race in 1923 was run at miles. Prior to 2000 the race was run between 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 ...

and the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...

thus competing with the second leg of the Triple Crown for good runners. Beginning in 2001, the Illinois Derby was moved to four weeks prior to the Kentucky Derby and instantly become a major Triple Crown prep race. The 2002 Illinois Derby won by

War Emblem War Emblem (February 20, 1999 – March 11, 2020) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2002 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. Background War Emblem was bred by Charles Nuckols Jr. & Sons in Kentucky. His sire was O ...

was the last Derby run at Sportsman's Park Racetrack. War Emblem went on to become a "Dual Classic Winner" by winning the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. War Emblem helped elevate the prestige of the Illinois Derby by displaying that a race winner could go on to even bigger glory. In 2004 Pollard's Vision also helped increase the stature of the race when he won it. Pollard's Vision was a colt who was blind in his right eye, he was named in honor of

Seabiscuit Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a two-horse ...

's jockey

Red Pollard John M. "Red" Pollard (October 27, 1909 – March 7, 1981) was a Canadian horse racing jockey. A founding member of the Jockeys' Guild in 1940, Pollard rode at racetracks in the United States and is best known for riding Seabiscuit. Family ...

, who also lost sight in his right eye. In 2006 Sweetnorthernsaint, the Illinois Derby winner that year, helped the stature of the race after recording the highest beyer speed figure of the year in the race and was installed as the morning line favorite in the Kentucky Derby. Sweetnorthernsait went on to become the Preakness Stakes runner up to

Bernardini Bernadini can mean: * Bernardini (horse), thoroughbred race horse, at Darley Stable in Kentucky * Bernardini (company), safe manufacturer which operated from 1912 to 1992 * Bernardini (surname), family name of Italian origin See also * Bern ...

in the race where Barbaro was fatally injured. In 1997, at Sportsman's Park,

Wild Rush Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to: Common meanings * Wild animal * Wilderness, a wild natural environment * Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed Art, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Wild'' (2014 film), a 2014 A ...

set the record for the fastest time in the Illinois Derby at 1:47.51. It had been a

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 ...

race with an offering a purse of $500,000, however it was reduced to a Grade III race for 2010 by 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. ...

.Two Fewer Graded Stakes in 2010
/ref> Since that time. For 2012, the purse has been reinstated to $500,000, but reduced to $400,000 in 2015.

Winners since 1968

Earlier winners

*1967 - Royal Malabar *1966 - Michigan Avenue *1965 - Terra Hi (1st Div) *1964 - Nushka *1963 - Lemon Twist *1939 - 1962 ''Race not run'' *1938 - Gov. Chandler *1937 - Case Ace *1936 - Rushaway *1935 - Sun Portland *1934 -

Mata Hari Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (née Zelle; 7 August 187615 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari (), was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I. She was executed by ...

*1933 - Sweeprush *1923 - In Memoriam

References

{{Reflist

External links

The Illinois Derby at Pedigree Query

The American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, 2010
1923 establishments in Illinois Horse races in Illinois Hawthorne Race Course Flat horse races for three-year-olds Triple Crown Prep Races Graded stakes races in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1923