The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers 1+1⁄8 miles (1,800 m) at Churchill Downs; the horses carry 121 pounds (55 kg). The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday before the Kentucky Derby each year. The winner gets $846,300 of the $1,500,000 purse, and a large garland blanket of lilies, resulting in the nickname "Lillies for the Fillies." A silver Kentucky Oaks Trophy is presented to the winner.
Nijinsky was a Canadian-bred, Irish-trained champion Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was the outstanding two-year-old in Europe in 1969 when he was unbeaten in five races. In the following season, he became the first horse for thirty-five years to win the English Triple Crown, a feat that has not been repeated as of 2023. He is regarded as one of the greatest European flat racehorses of the 20th century.
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 prominent in Kentucky for many years. The first Kentucky Derby, a Thoroughbred sweepstakes and part of today's horse racing Triple Crown, and the first Kentucky Oaks were held in the same year. Churchill Downs has also hosted the renowned Breeders' Cup on nine occasions, most recently on November 2 and 3, 2018.
Turfway Park is an American horse racing track located within the city limits of Florence, Kentucky, about 10 miles (16 km) south of the Ohio River at Cincinnati. The track conducts live Thoroughbred horse racing during two meets each year—Holiday (December), and Winter/Spring —and offers year-round simulcast wagering from tracks across the continent.
Charles David "Chic" Anderson was an American sportscaster and public address announcer specializing in Thoroughbred horse racing. He was one of American sports' most famous PA voices, and remains among its most revered race callers. Anderson's narration of the 1973 Belmont Stakes, where he described Secretariat as "moving like a tremendous machine", remains one of horse racing's most memorable calls.
Churchill Downs Incorporated is the parent company of Churchill Downs. The company has evolved from one racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky, to a multi American-state-wide, publicly traded company with racetracks, casinos and an online wagering company among its portfolio of businesses.
Lucas Martin "Luke" Kruytbosch was an American Thoroughbred horse racing announcer. He was best known as the on-track public-address voice of Churchill Downs and Kentucky Derby from 1999 until his death. He also called races at Turf Paradise, Ellis Park Racecourse, Kentucky Downs, Hollywood Park, Sunland Park, Northlands Park and Ruidoso Downs during his career.
Acatenango (1982–2005) was a German Thoroughbred racehorse. Sired by the Deutsches Derby winner and German Champion sire, Surumu, he was out of the English mare Aggravate. Acatenango's ancestry includes German Champion sire Dark Ronald, the French Champion sire, Tantieme, English Triple Crown champion Gainsborough, and the most influential Italian sire, Nearco.
Dr Devious was an Irish-bred and British-trained Thoroughbred race horse. In a career which lasted from May 1991 until November 1992, he ran fifteen times and won six races. He is most notable as the winner of the Derby in 1992. Dr Devious's other most significant wins came in the Dewhurst Stakes and the Irish Champion Stakes. He was the second horse, after Bold Arrangement in 1986, to run in both the Kentucky Derby and the Epsom Derby.
Scorpion is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. As a three-year-old in 2005 he won the Grand Prix de Paris and the St. Leger Stakes. In 2007 he won the Coronation Cup.
Red Rocks was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse.
Cacique is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in Europe and the United States. Bred and raced by Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms, Cacique is the son of international Champion sire Danehill. He is out of the mare Hasili, whose damsire, Kahyasi, won the 1988 Epsom and Irish Derbys. Cacique is a full-brother to Breeders' Cup winners Banks Hill and Intercontinental and to Grade One winner Champs Elysees and Grade One-placed and Leading sire in France Dansili.
Travis Stone is a public address announcer for thoroughbred horse racing at Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky, in which he has served since 2015. Originally from Schroon Lake, he graduated from the State University of New York at Oneonta in Oneonta, New York.
Bernard S. "Bert" Michell was an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer best known for winning the 1928 Kentucky Derby with American Horse of the Year and Hall of Fame inductee, Reigh Count.
Darrel G. McHargue is a retired American Champion jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. One of five children from a family not connected to horse racing, he was first introduced to riding as a teenage boy when he rode a neighbor's Quarter Horse. He was 17 years old when he made his professional debut in 1972 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The following year he was the leading rider at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland.
The Kentucky Derby Trophy is a set of four trophies that are awarded to the winning connections of America's most famous race: the grade one $3,100,000 Kentucky Derby. The owner receives a gold trophy while the trainer, the jockey and the breeder win a silver half size replica of the main gold trophy. The trophy itself has been run for since the 50th running of the Kentucky Derby in 1924. Churchill Downs Race Course of Louisville, Kentucky has annually presented a gold trophy to the winning owner of the famed "Run for the Roses."
This is a listing of the top attended stakes races for thoroughbred racing in North America by year.
User Friendly is a European Champion Thoroughbred racehorse.
Premonition (1950–1970) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career which lasted from autumn 1952 until July 1954 he ran fourteen times and won eight races. He won the Classic St Leger as a three-year-old in 1953, a year in which he also won the Great Voltigeur Stakes and was controversially disqualified in the Irish Derby. He won the Yorkshire Cup as a four-year-old in 1954 before being retire to stud, where he made very little impact as a stallion.
