The Commonwealth Stakes is a Grade III 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 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 milli ...

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 any of 660 foot (unit), feet, 220 yards, 40 rod (unit), rods, 10 chain (unit), chains, or a ...

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 it ...

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

during the spring meeting. The event currently carries a purse of $350,000.

History

The inaugural running of the event was on 16 October 1987, during Keeneland's fall meeting as the Commonwealth Breeders' Cup Stakes as a six furlong dirt sprint for three year olds and older and was won by Exclusive Enough who was ridden by US Hall of Fame jockey Mike E. Smith. Exclusive Enough equaled the track record with his winning time of 1:08 and to date is the only three year old to have won the event. Between 1987 and 2007, the

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was ...

sponsored the event which reflected in the name of the event. Two years later, in 1989 Keeneland moved the event to their spring meeting in April and increased the distance to seven furlongs and changed the conditions of the event to only allow four year olds and older. The following year in 1990 the event was upgraded to Grade III status and in 1994 the event was upgraded once more

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. Between 2007 and 2014 the event was held on the synthetic Polytrack surface. In 2013 the event was downgraded to a Grade III event. The event was not held 2020 during Keeneland's spring meeting which was moved to July and shortened due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United States On December 31, 2019, China announced the discovery of a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan. The first American case was reported on January 20, and United States Department of Health and Human Services, Health and Human Services Secreta ...

Records

Speed record * 1:20.40 – Distorted Humor (1998) Margins * 6 lengths – Calestoga (1988) Most wins * 2 – Black Tie Affair (1990, 1991) Most wins by a

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), 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 ...

* 3 –

Edgar Prado Edgar S. Prado (born June 12, 1967) is a retired Peruvian jockey in thoroughbred horse racing. Prado's big break came in 1997 when he won 536 races, making him the fourth rider in history to win 500 races in one year. Much of that success was ga ...

(2001, 2003, 2008) * 3 –

Joel Rosario Joel Rosario (born January 14, 1985) is a Dominican jockey who mainly competes in American thoroughbred horse racing, originally from the Dominican Republic. In the space of five weeks in 2013 he rode the winners of the Dubai World Cup and the Ke ...

(2012, 2017, 2021) Most wins by a trainer * 3 – Todd A. Pletcher (2003, 2004, 2011) Most wins by an owner * 2 – Jeff Sullivan (1990, 1991) * 2 – Michael B. Tabor (2003, 2004)

Winners

''Legend:''

External links

2021 Keeneland Media Guide

References

{{Reflist, 2 Graded stakes races in the United States Grade 3 stakes races in the United States Open mile category horse races Keeneland horse races Horse races established in 1987 1987 establishments in Kentucky

History

Records

Winners

See also

External links

References