The Iroquois Steeplechase (also known as the Iroquois Hurdle Stakes) is an American

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 ...

NSA The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...

sanctioned

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

race run each May at

Percy Warner Park The English surname Percy is of Norman origin, coming from Normandy to England, United Kingdom. It was from the House of Percy, Norman lords of Northumberland, derives from the village of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy. From there, it came into use ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. The race dates back to 1941 and has been held annually, except in 1945, due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and in 2020, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The Iroquois itself is the culmination of a card of races which usually includes five to seven preliminary races, both flat races and steeplechases. The race is named for

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

, the first American-bred

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 ...

to win the prestigious British

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...

. Several winners of the race have been named

American Champion Steeplechase Horse The American Champion Steeplechase Horse is an American horse racing honor awarded as part of the Eclipse Award program since its inception in 1971. It is awarded annually to the top horse in steeplechase racing. Flatterer is the only horse to wi ...

, including Flatterer, Lonesome Glory, Correggio, All Gong, Good Night Shirt, Pierrot Lunaire, Divine Fortune, Demonstrative, Rawnaq, and Scorpiancer. The race is long, over national fences and for four-year-olds and over.

Records since 1991

Speed record: *5:36.20 – Arcadius (2012) Most wins by a horse: * 3 – Uncle Edwin (1982, 1985, 1986) 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 – Blythe Miller (1991, 1992, 1995, 2002) Most wins by a trainer: * 7 – Jack Fisher (1996, 2007, 2008, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022) Most wins by an owner: * 4 – Burton Street US (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022) * 3 – Irvin S. Naylor (2010, 2011, 2016) * 3 – William C. Lickle (1991, 1992, 1997)

Winners

1982–1990

*1982 Uncle Edwin *1983 Census *1984 Census *1985 Uncle Edwin *1986 Uncle Edwin *1987 Flatterer *1988 Steve Canyon *1989 Kesslin *1990 Pacific Spy

1991–present

References

Steeplechase (horse racing) Sports competitions in Nashville, Tennessee Culture of Nashville, Tennessee 1941 establishments in Tennessee Recurring sporting events established in 1941 {{Tennessee-sport-stub