The Stephen Foster 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 horses aged three and older over a distance of miles on the dirt run annually in mid-June at
Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was ...
Spring Meet in
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
. The race is named in honor of famed composer
Stephen Foster
Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known also as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour music, parlour and Minstrel show, minstrel music during the Romantic music, Romantic ...
, who wrote numerous melodies including "
My Old Kentucky Home
"My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!" is a sentimental ballad written by Stephen Foster, probably composed in 1852. It was published in January 1853 by Firth, Pond, & Co. of New York. Foster was likely inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-sla ...
" which is the song that is annually played as 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 ...
field parades on the track.
History
The Stephen Foster Handicap was inaugurated on 19 June 1982 as the Stephen Foster Handicap and has progressed from
Grade III status in 1988 to Grade II in 1995 to Grade I in 2002.
In 2019, it was downgraded to Grade II.
In December 2022, it was announced that the race would return to Grade I status for the 2023 season.
Currently offering a purse of $500,000, the race draws some of the top older horses from various parts of the United States. Since 2015 the event is a
Breeders' Cup Challenge
The Breeders' Cup Challenge is a series of Thoroughbred horse races in which the winner earns an automatic spot in a specified Breeders' Cup race. The challenge races change somewhat each year. The Challenge series began in 2007 with 24 "Win and Y ...
"Win and You're In" event, offering the winner an automatic berth in the
Breeders' Cup Classic
The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October o ...
.
The race was restricted to horses four years of age an older in 1983 and from 1985 through 1987.
[
The 2006 edition of the Stephen Foster Handicap produced its biggest upset ever when jockey ]Calvin Borel
Calvin H. Borel (born November 7, 1966) is an American jockey in thoroughbred horse racing and rode the victorious mount in the 2007 Kentucky Derby, the 2009 Kentucky Derby and the 2010 Kentucky Derby. His 2009 Derby win with Mine That Bird was ...
aboard 91-1 longshot Seek Gold defeated the favored 2003 winner, Perfect Drift.[
Four horses used victories in the Stephen Foster as part of their resumes in Horse of the Year campaigns. The four are Black Tie Affair (1991), ]Saint Liam
Saint Liam (April 13, 2000 – August 22, 2006) was an American thoroughbred racehorse who was voted 2005 Eclipse Award Horse of the Year honors after winning the Donn Handicap, Stephen Foster, Woodward Stakes and Breeders' Cup Classic. He d ...
(2005), Curlin
Curlin (foaled March 25, 2004, in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who was the American Horse of the Year in both 2007 and 2008. He retired in 2008 as the highest North American money earner with over US$10.5 ...
(2008), and Gun Runner
Arms trafficking or gunrunning is the illicit trade of contraband small arms and ammunition, which constitutes part of a broad range of illegal activities often associated with transnational criminal organizations. The illegal trade of small ar ...
(2017). Five horses have won the Stephen Foster and the Breeders' Cup Classic in the same year. Black Tie Affair (1991), Awesome Again
Awesome Again (March 29, 1994December 15, 2020) was a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse and stallion. As a three-year-old, he won the Queen's Plate in Canada and the Jim Dandy Stakes in the United States. He was undefeated at age four ...
(1998) and Blame (2010) won both races at Churchill Downs. Saint Liam (2005) won his running of the Classic at Belmont Park. Gun Runner (2017) won the Classic at Del Mar. Curlin (2008) carried the highest impost of any Stephen Foster winner: 128 pounds. Colonial Colony (2004) carried the lightest winning Foster impost at 111 pounds.[
]
Records
;Speed record
* 1:47.28 - Victory Gallop (1999)
;Margins
* 7 lengths - Gun Runner
Arms trafficking or gunrunning is the illicit trade of contraband small arms and ammunition, which constitutes part of a broad range of illegal activities often associated with transnational criminal organizations. The illegal trade of small ar ...
(2017)
;Most wins
* 2 - Vodika Collins (1982, 1983)
* 2 - Recoup the Cash (1994, 1995)
;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 - Robby Albarado
Robby J. Albarado (born September 11, 1973, in Lafayette, Louisiana) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He began riding at the age of 10 and progressed to riding at bush tracks in his native Louisiana by the age of 12. After turning ...
(2007, 2008, 2009)
* 3 - Pat Day
Patrick Alan "Pat" Day (born October 13, 1953, in Brush, Colorado) is a retired American jockey. He is a four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991 a ...
(1985, 1998, 2003)
;Most wins by a trainer
* 2 - Forrest Kaelin (1982, 1983)
* 2 - Jere Smith, Jr. (1994, 1995)
* 2 - Patrick B. Byrne (1997, 1998)
* 2 - Mark Casse
Mark E. Casse (born February 14, 1961) is a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer whose most notable horses include 2015 American champion turf mare Tepin and Canadian Horses of the Year Sealy Hill (2007), Uncaptured (2012), Lexie Lou (2014), Catch A ...
(2011, 2015)
;Most wins by an owner
* 2 - Milbert B. Collins (1982, 1983)
* 2 - Richard E. Trebat (1994, 1995)
* 2 - Stronach Stables (1998, 2000)
* 2 - West Point Thoroughbreds (2007, 2009)
Winners
See also
* Stephen Foster Handicap "top three finishers" and starters
*
* List of graded stakes at Churchill Downs
* List of American and Canadian Graded races
The List of American and Canadian Graded races is a list of Thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada that meet the graded stakes standards maintained by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders ...
External links
Ten Things You Should Know about the Stephen Foster Handicap at Hello Race Fans!
References
{{Stephen Foster
Grade 2 stakes races in the United States
Graded stakes races in the United States
Recurring sporting events established in 1982
Churchill Downs horse races
Breeders' Cup Challenge series
1982 establishments in Kentucky