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 the Derby, Irish Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in Europe, the Melbourne Cup in Australia, and the Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup races in the United States. Victory in these races marks a horse as being particularly talented, if not exceptional, and they are extremely important in determining stud values. They are also sometimes referred to as Black type races, since any horse that has won one of these races is printed in bold type in sales catalogues.
The Just A Game Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares age four and up run over a distance of one mile on the turf held annually in June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The event offers a purse of $500,000.
The Alcibiades Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky. A Grade I race, it is open to two-year-old fillies willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt. Sponsored by Darley Racing since 2003, the Alcibiades Stakes was named for Hal Price Headley's great foundation mare Alcibiades.
The Red Carpet Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during Del Mar racetrack's fall meet which has been created to accommodate the overflow of established races from closing of Hollywood Park. The Grade III is run over a distance of 1+3⁄8 miles on turf, and is open to fillies and mares three years of age and older.
The Santa Barbara Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. A Listed event open to fillies and mares, age four and older, it is contested of turf over a distance of one and a half miles.
The Go For Wand Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race established in 1954 for fillies and mares age three and up. Raced in the fall, it is a Grade III race on dirt at a distance of one mile.
The First Lady Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for fillies & mares, age three and older over a distance of one mile on the turf held annually in October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky during the fall meeting.
Serena's Song is an American Thoroughbred race horse. She won 17 graded stakes races, including 11 Grade I, in three seasons for $3,286,388 in earnings.
The Poker Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged four years old and older held over a distance of one mile on the turf held annually in mid June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.
The Dogwood Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies run over a distance of seven furlongs held annually in September at Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky.
The All Along Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in September at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland. Open to fillies and mares, age three and older, it is raced on turf at a distance of 1+1⁄16 miles. The race currently offers a purse of $150,000. In 2015, the Maryland Jockey Club agreed to move the Stakes race and run it at Laurel Park changing the name of a former race Lady Baltimore Stakes to the All Along Stakes.
The Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares aged three-years-old and older over a distance of six furlongs on the dirt held annually in early October at Keeneland Race Course, Lexington, Kentucky during the fall meeting.
The Desert Stormer Stakes is a Listed American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares age four and older run over a distance of six furlongs on the dirt held annually in March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California.
The Santa Paula Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the end of March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. An event open to three-year-old fillies, it is contested over a distance of six and one half furlongs. The race was downgraded from Grade III status for 2011 by the American Graded Stakes Committee.
Groupie Doll is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. A specialist sprinter, she is best known for winning the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint in 2012 and 2013. Unraced as a two-year-old she showed good form as a three-year-old in 2011, winning three races including the Gardenia Stakes. In 2012, she emerged as a world-class sprinter, winning the Madison Stakes, Humana Distaff Handicap, Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes, and Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes before taking the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. In 2013 she repeated in the Masters Stakes and won a second Breeders' Cup. She was then sold as a prospective broodmare for $3.1 million. Her new owner chose to keep her in training into early 2014, running her against males in the Cigar Mile, and then in the Hurricane Bertie Stakes, where she won the final race of her career, to be retired and become a broodmare.
Caressing was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. She won five of her eighteen races in a track career which lasted from July 2000 until November 2002. As a two-year-old she won two of her first four races before recording a 47/1 upset win in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, which led to her being named American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. In the following year her career was disrupted by illness but she did win the La Troienne Stakes and the Singapore Plate. After competing without success as a four-year-old she was retired from racing and had some success as a broodmare – the dam of two graded black type placed horses and multiple Grade 1 winner West Coast, Eclipse Champion 3 Year Old Male of 2018.
Judy the Beauty is a Canadian-bred, American-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred by Adena Springs in Ontario, she has been owned and trained throughout her racing career by Wesley Ward who bought her for $20,000 as a yearling. As a juvenile, she won her first three races before finishing second in the Spinaway Stakes. In a brief three-year-old season she finished second in all three of her races. In 2013 she established herself as one of the best female sprinters in North America, winning the Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes and finishing second to Groupie Doll in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. She was even better at five, winning the Las Flores Handicap, Madison Stakes and Rancho Bernardo Handicap before ending her season with a win in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. After her retirement, Judy the Beauty was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2018.
The Caress Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares aged four years old and older held over a distance of five and one-half furlongs on the turf held annually in July at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Caravel is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse. She won 15 races in her career, of which 13 were stakes races. Her top victories were in the Grade I Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint in 2022 and the Grade I Jaipur Stakes in 2023.
