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The Clark Stakes is an 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 ...
held annually in late November at
Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States that hosts the annual Kentucky Derby. It opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was prominent in Kentucky for many years. The first ...
in
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
. Among the oldest races in the United States, it was first run in 1875, the year the racetrack opened for business. Currently a
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 ...
event, it is open to horses age three and older and is contested on dirt over a distance of miles (9
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). It was known as the Clark Handicap through 2018 before the race conditions were changed to set weights and allowances in 2019. The race is named in honor of Colonel M. Lewis Clark, founder of the Louisville Jockey Club which built Churchill Downs. Through 1901, it was restricted to three-year-old horses. Since inception, the Clark Handicap has been run at various distances: * 2 miles : 1875–1880 * miles : 1881–1895 * miles : 1896–1901, 1922–1924, 1955–present * miles : 1902–1921, 1925–1954 The race was run in two divisions in 1953.


Records

Speed record: (at current distance of miles) * 1:47.28 – Victory Gallop (12 June, 1999) Most wins * 2 – Hodge (1915, 1916) * 2 – Bold Favorite (1968, 1969) * 2 – Bob's Dusty (1977, 1978) 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 ...
* 4 – Isaac Burns Murphy (1879, 1884,1885, 1890) * 4 –
Pat Day Patrick Alan "Pat" Day (born October 13, 1953, in Brush, Colorado) is a retired American jockey. He is a four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991 an ...
(1984, 1985, 1990, 2000) Most wins by a trainer * 3 – Ben A. Jones (1942, 1946, 1951) * 3 – Smiley Adams (1977, 1978, 1979) * 3 – Bob Baffert (1996, 1998, 2014) Most Wins by an owner * 3 – Robert N. Lehmann (1977, 1978, 1979)


Winners

† In 2003, Evening Attire won the race but was disqualified for interference in the stretch and set back to second.
‡ In 2010, Successful Dan won the race but was disqualified and placed third for interference.


References


''Thoroughbred Times'' article on Premium Tap's record-setting win in the 2005 Clark Handicap

The 2008 Clark Handicap at the NTRA
{dead link, date=August 2017 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Graded stakes races in the United States 1875 establishments in Kentucky Open mile category horse races Horse races established in 1875 Churchill Downs horse races Grade 2 stakes races in the United States