The Madison 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

fillies A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

and

mares A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four y ...

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 $500,000.

History

The race is named for Madison County, the largest county in the

Bluegrass region The Bluegrass region is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It makes up the central and northern part of the state, roughly bounded by the cities of Frankfort, Paris, Richmond and Stanford. The Bluegrass region is characterized ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. The event was inaugurated on 10 April 2002 and was won by the favorite Victory Ride by one length in a time of 1:23. In 2005 the event was upgraded from a

Listed race Group races, also known as Pattern races, or Graded races in some jurisdictions, are the highest level of races in Thoroughbred horse racing. They include most of the world's iconic races, such as, in Europe, the Derby, Irish Derby and Prix de l'A ...

to Grade III status, then in 2006 to Grade II. In 2009 it became a Grade I event. From 2006 to 2014, it was contested on a Polytrack artificial dirt surface. After the spring meet of 2014, the Polytrack was replaced by a new dirt surface. Between 2004 and 2012 the name of the event carried its sponsor, Vinery, a local Thoroughbred breeding operation near the Lexington area.

Records

;Speed record * 1.21:32 – Dr. Zic (2010) ;Margins * lengths – Dubai Escapade (2006) ;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 ...

(2002, 2006, 2007) ;Most wins by an owner * 2 –

Juddmonte Farms Juddmonte Farms is a horse breeding farm, owned until his death on 12th January 2021 by Prince Khalid bin Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.National Thoroughbred Racing Association"Juddmonte Farms, Inc.", profile. Retrieved October 16, 2007. Overview Ju ...

(2008, 2017) ;Most wins by a trainer * 2 –

Chad C. Brown Chad C. Brown (born December 18, 1978) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer known for his expertise with turf horses and with fillies and mares. He has trained ten Eclipse Award winners including Stacelita, Big Blue Kitten, Lady Eli, ...

(2017, 2020) * 2 –

Wesley A. Ward Wesley A. Ward (born March 3, 1968, in Selah, Washington) is a retired American Champion jockey and a current trainer in Thoroughbred horse racing. Background Ward grew up in the horse racing industry, being the son of trainer Dennis Ward.

(2014, 2021)

Winners

''Legend:''

External links

2021 Keeneland Media Guide

References

{{Reflist, 2 Graded stakes races in the United States Grade 1 stakes races in the United States Flat horse races for four-year-old fillies Recurring sporting events established in 2002 Keeneland horse races 2002 establishments in Kentucky

History

Records

Winners

See also

External links

References