The Cotillion 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 at Parx Racing and Casino in

Bensalem, Pennsylvania Bensalem Township is a township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The township borders the northeastern section of Philadelphia and includes the communities of Andalusia, Bensalem, Bridgewater, Cornwells Heights, Eddington, Flush ...

. It is run in late September or early October as a prelude to the annual

Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, i ...

. The race is open to three-year-old filles, willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles (eight and a half

furlongs 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 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains, or approximately 201 metres. It is no ...

) on the dirt. The

Grade I 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, H ...

event carries a purse of US$1 million. From 2006 to 2010 it was called the Fitz Dixon Cotillion to honor Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr. of the prominent

Widener family The Widener family is an American family from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded by Peter Arrell Browne Widener (1834–1915) and his wife, Hannah Josephine Dunton (1836–1896), it was once one of the wealthiest families in the Unite ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, who have been major figures in Thoroughbred racing since the early part of the 20th century. This race was inaugurated in 1969 at Liberty Bell Park in Northeast

before thoroughbred racing moved to the then-Keystone Racetrack (later known as Philadelphia Park) in nearby Bensalem in

Bucks County, Pennsylvania Bucks County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the List of counties in Pennsylvania, four ...

. It has produced multiple

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division. The trophy is made by a few small selected A ...

winners, including Shuvee, Susan's Girl, Revidere, Ashado, Havre de Grace, and Untapable. Due to the

Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, no race was run in 2020.

Records

Speed record: * 1:40.93 – Havre de Grace (2010) 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 – Mike E. Smith (2000, 2013, 2016, 2018) Most wins by a trainer: * 5 – Steven M. Asmussen (2012, 2014, 2018, 2021, 2022) Most wins by an owner: * 3 – Fox Hill Farms (2000, 2010, 2016)

Winners

† In 1987, Sacahuista won the race but was disqualified for interference and set back to second. † In 2018, Monomoy Girl won the race but was disqualified for interference and set back to second.

References

The Cotillion Handicap at Pedigree Query

The Cotillion Handicap at the NTRA

The Cotillion Handicap at Philadelphia Park

{Dead link, date=September 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Graded stakes races in the United States Mile category horse races for fillies and mares Horse races in Pennsylvania Horse races established in 1969 Parx Casino and Racing Widener family Flat horse races for three-year-old fillies 1969 establishments in Pennsylvania