Blue Grass Stakes
Grade I race | |
Location | Keeneland Race Course, Lexington, Kentucky, USA |
---|---|
Inaugurated | 1911 |
Race type | Thoroughbred |
Website | www |
Race information | |
Distance | 1+1⁄8 miles (9 Furlongs) |
Surface | dirt |
Track | Left-handed |
Qualification | 3-year-old |
Weight | 123 lbs (55.8 kg) |
Purse | $1,000,000 (since 2015)[1] |
The Blue Grass Stakes, currently the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes due to sponsorship by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is a horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. The race is run at 1+1⁄8 miles on the dirt and currently offers a purse of $1,000,000. The Blue Grass Stakes was a Grade I event from 1974 (when grading was first introduced) through 1989 and again from 1999 to 2016.[1] It was a Grade II event from 2017-2021,[2] and returned to a Grade I in 2022.
It was named for the Bluegrass region of Kentucky, characterized by grass having bluish-green culms, which is known as the "heart" of the thoroughbred racing industry.
First run at the Kentucky Association track in Lexington in 1911, the Blue Grass has, from its inception, served as an important prep for the Kentucky Derby.[3] At the Lexington Association track, the Blue Grass was staged from 1911 through 1914 and from 1919 through 1926.[4] The race was revived at Keeneland in the spring of 1937. In 1943–1944, the Blue Grass was renewed as a part of the Keeneland-at-Churchill Downs meeting. In 1945, the Blue Grass was run as part of the Churchill Downs meeting. Today it is part of the Keeneland program.
From 2007 to 2014, the race was held on a synthetic "all-weather" surface. Otherwise, it has been run on a dirt surface.[1]
Records (Keeneland)
Fastest Time: (at Current Distance of 1+1⁄8 miles)
- 1:47.20 – Skip Away (1996)
- Most wins by an owner
- 6 – Calumet Farm (1938, 1943, 1947, 1948, 1968, 1978)
- Most wins by a jockey
- 6 – Bill Shoemaker (1959, 1960, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1982)
Most wins by a trainer: (tied)
- 3 – Ben A. Jones (1943, 1947, 1948)
- 3 – Woody Stephens (1949, 1954, 1974)
- 3 – LeRoy Jolley (1962, 1976, 1977),
- 3 – Nick Zito (1991, 1998, 2004)
- 3 – Todd Pletcher (2005, 2008, 2015)
Winners
Winners of the Lexington Association Blue Grass Stakes
Winner |
Winner |
Age |
Jockey |
Trainer |
Owner |
Distance (Miles) |
Time | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1926 | Bubbling Over | 3 | Eddie Legere | Herbert J. Thompson | Idle Hour Stock Farm | 1-1⁄8 | 1:49.60 | |||
1925 | Step Along | 3 | Earl Pool | William Perkins | Frederick M. Grabner | 1-1⁄8 | 1:51.60 | |||
1924 | Altawood | 3 | Lawrence McDermott | G. Hamilton Keene | C. Bruce Head | 1-1⁄8 | 1:51.80 | |||
1923 | Bo McMillan | 3 | Danny Connelly | Louis Cahn | Thomas J. Pendergast | 1-1⁄8 | 1:56.80 | |||
1922 | Busy American | 3 | Newton Barrett | Herbert J. Thompson | Idle Hour Stock Farm | 1-1⁄8 | 1:55.80 | |||
1921 | Black Servant | 3 | Newton Barrett | Herbert J. Thompson | Idle Hour Stock Farm | 1-1⁄8 | 1:54.60 | |||
1920 | Peace Pennant | 3 | Mack Garner | Joseph S. Hawkins | W. F. Polson | 1-1⁄8 | 1:51.80 | |||
1919 | Regalo | 3 | Frank Murphy | John C. Gallaher | Gallaher Bros. | 1-1⁄8 | 1:51.60 | |||
1915–1918 | No races | |||||||||
1914 | Bronzewing | 3 | John McCabe | Daniel Lehan | A. P. Humphrey, Jr. | 1-1⁄8 | 1:51.80 | |||
1913 | Foundation | 3 | Charles Peak | William McDaniel | Charles W. McKenna | 1-1⁄8 | 1:51.40 | |||
1912 | Sprite | 3 | Carroll H. Shilling | William H. Karrick | Harry K. Knapp | 1-1⁄8 | 1:51.20 | |||
1911 | Governor Gray | 3 | George Molesworth | James S. Everman | R. N. Smith & Co. | 1-1⁄8 | 1.51.20 |
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Blue Grass Stakes Profile". www.equibase.com. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ^ "Blue Grass, Wood Memorial Downgraded". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ^ Daily Racing Form March 19, 1919 article titled "Lexingtons Interesting New Race: Blue Grass Stakes to Serve as a Trial for the Kentucky Derby Candidates" Retrieved August 12, 2018
- ^ Daily Racing Form, 1945-06-02, Lexington Association's Blue Grass Stakes history
- ^ "Blue Grass Stakes History" (PDF). Keeneland Association. 2009-02-24. Archived from the original (pdf) on 2010-12-26. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
External links
- Articles with short description
- Short description with empty Wikidata description
- Keeneland horse races
- Flat horse races for three-year-olds
- Triple Crown Prep Races
- Grade 2 stakes races in the United States
- Graded stakes races in the United States
- Recurring sporting events established in 1911
- 1911 establishments in Kentucky