The Secretariat Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds over a distance of one mile on the turf. The event was originally raced at the now-closed

Arlington Park Arlington International Racecourse (formerly Arlington Park, the name was Arlington Park Jockey Club from as soon as 1948 up to 1955) was a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago re ...

in Arlington Heights,

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

as a supporting stakes race on the Arlington Million racing program.

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 p ...

, whose

parent company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

owns the land of the defunct Arlington Park racetrack, originally planned to run the Secretariat Stakes in 2022, but the race was not run due to issues with the Churchill Downs turf course. The 2023 race will be run at Churchill-owned Colonial Downs in Virginia.

History

Precursor — Arlington Invitational

In 1973, after Secretariat became the first U.S. Triple Crown winner in twenty five years, many race tracks wanted to have him race at their tracks. Arlington racetrack management offered to run him in the American Derby but it was too soon after his

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nickname ...

victory. Management pursed to create an event that would entice Secretariat's connections. This event was called the Arlington Invitational with $125,000 stakes offered in order to showcase Secretariat to

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racing fans and it was held 29 June 1973. A crowd of 41,223 witnessed seeing the three challengers grouped as a single betting entry at 6–1 and Secretariat was 1–20 odds-on which created a minus pool of $17,941. Secretariat won the miles race by nine lengths in 1:47 flat, just off the track record set by

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

with My Gallant and Our Native running second and third respectively. Both of these horses had lost to the Champion in the Triple Crown series. The performance produced a lasting impression to Arlington Park management.

Event

One year and one day after Secretariat's performance at Arlington Park, track management scheduled a race in his honor. The inaugural event was held 30 June 1974 over a distance of miles on the turf. The event was won in an upset with the 39-1 longshot Glossary winning. The event was set with

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 I ...

status. It was run over in 1975/76 and extended to from 1978 to 1984, before settling at miles from 1985 to 2018. In 1984 the event was upgraded to Grade I status. In 1985 the event was held at Hawthorne Race Course over a shorter distance of miles. There was no race run in 1988, 1998 and 1999. In 2005 it was included in the Grand Slam of Grass, which offered a substantial bonus to the winner of this race, the Colonial Turf Cup, the Virginia Derby and the Breeders' Cup Turf. In 2019 the race was cut back to one mile. In 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United States The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United States, it has resulted in confir ...

, Arlington Park did not schedule the event in their shortened meeting. During the last year of racing at Arlington Park in 2021, the race was renamed the Bruce D. Stakes in honor of the late Bruce Duchossois, the son of track owner Richard L. Duchossois. In March 2022 Churchill Downs Incorporated (which owns the Arlington Park property) announced that it would move the Secretariat Stakes to

along with several of Arlington's traditional stakes races, including the Arlington Million. A week and a half before the Secretariat was supposed to be run, Churchill announced that the Secretariat would not be contested due to issues with the Churchill Downs turf course, while the other major turf stakes formerly run at Arlington—the Arlington Million and the Beverly D. Stakes—would be run as scheduled. In December 2022 an agreement was reached between Churchill Downs and the American Graded Stakes Committee to move the 2023 Arlington Million and its supporting races, including the Secretariat Stakes, to Colonial Downs in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

Records

Race record: * 1 mile: 1:35.50 – Valid Point (2019) * miles: 1:59.65 – Kitten's Joy (2004) * miles: 2:29.80 –

Mac Diarmida {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Mac Diarmida , image = , caption = , sire = Minnesota Mac , grandsire = Rough'n Tumble , dam = Flying Tammie , damsire = Tim Tam , sex = Stallion , foaled = 1975 , country = United States , colour = D ...

(1978) Margins: * lengths – Stately Don (1987) Most wins by an owner: * 5 – Michael Tabor (1996, 2000, 2011, 2014, 2015) 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 – Pat Day (1983, 1991, 1995) * 3 – Kent Desormeaux (2002, 2009, 2010) Most wins by a trainer: * 4 – Aidan O'Brien (2000, 2011, 2014, 2015)

Winners

''Legend:''

''Notes:''
§ Ran as an entry with stablemate

Unbridled Unbridled (March 5, 1987 – October 18, 2001) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1990 Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic. He retired with a career record of eight wins, six places, and six shows in 24 start ...

References