The Hanshin Stakes is a Listed 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 July 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 ...

. The event open to horses three years of age and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of 8

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 and currently offers a purse of $100,000.

History

The race was inaugurated in 1941 at

Arlington Park Arlington Park (formerly known as Arlington International Racecourse) is a former horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Once called the ''Arlington Park Jockey Club'', it was located adjacent to the Illinois Rou ...

as the Equipoise Mile in honor of the great colt Equipoise. It was raced under that name from 1941 through 1963 and in 1966 and 1967. In 1964 and 1965 it was raced as the Equipoise Handicap then from 1968 through 1997. The race was hosted by the

Washington Park Race Track Washington Park Race Track was a popular horse racing venue in the Chicago metropolitan area from 1884 until 1977. It had two locations during its existence. It was first situated at what became the Washington Park Subdivision of the Woodl ...

from 1943 through 1945. It was run in two divisions in 1945. The race was not run from 1970 through 1978 and in 1988. It was on hiatus again in 1998 and 1999 but returned as the Hanshin Cup Handicap in 2000. U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee

Swoon's Son Swoon's Son (February 13, 1953 – 1977) is an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. He was bred and raced by E. Gay Drake, owner of Mineola Stock Farm in Lexington, Kentucky and a charter member of the Thoroughbred Club of America. Ri ...

won back-to-back runnings of this race in 1957–58. In 1967, the race saw the last racecourse appearance of the 1965 United States Horse of the Year

Moccasin A moccasin is a shoe, made of deerskin or other soft leather, consisting of a sole (made with leather that has not been "worked") and sides made of one piece of leather, stitched together at the top, and sometimes with a vamp (additional pane ...

. Due to the unpredictability of the race, it has been said many times on Hanshin Cup Day, “Anything can happen in the Hanshin”.

Past winners

* 2022 -

Cody's Wish Cody's Wish (born 3 May 2018) is a retired multiple Grade I winning American Thoroughbred racehorse and the American Horse of the Year for 2023. He is a two-time winner of the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. In 2022 he was a winner in four of his five ...

* 2021 - Guest Suite (Emmanuel Esquivel) * 2020 - Not Held * 2019 - Lanier ( Declan Cannon) * 2018 - Matrooh ( Santo Sanjur) * 2017 - Crewman ( Carlos Marquez, Jr.) * 2016 - Trace Creek ( Julio E. Felix) * 2015 - Midnight Cello (

Florent Geroux Florent Geroux (born July 16, 1986) is a French jockey who has earned over 1,700 wins in American thoroughbred horse racing, including the 2017 Breeders' Cup Classic on Gun Runner, two Breeders' Cup Distaff wins with Monomoy Girl, and the 20 ...

) * 2014 - Nikki's Sandcastle ( Leandro R. Goncalves) * 2013 - Hogy (

Christopher A. Emigh Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει ...

) * 2012 - Havelock (

) * 2011 - Workin for Hops ( James Graham) * 2010 - Country Flavor ( Inez Karlsson) * 2009 - Vacation (

John Velazquez John R. Velazquez (born November 24, 1971) is a Puerto Rican jockey in Thoroughbred horse race, Thoroughbred horse racing. He began his career in Puerto Rico and moved to New York in 1990. In 2004 and 2005 he was the United States Champion Jockey ...

) * 2008 - Coragil Cat (

Diego Sanchez Diego Sanchez (born December 31, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes on the Super Lightweight division of Eagle Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2002, Sanchez is most known for his ...

) * 2007 - Spotsgone (

Earlie Fires Earlie Stancel Fires (born March 19, 1947) is an American retired horse racing jockey. Fires began riding professionally in 1964 and led all American apprentices in wins that year with 224. He retired on September 21, 2008, having won 6,470 races ...

) * 2006 - Gouldings Green (

Corey Lanerie Corey James Lanerie (born November 13, 1974) is an American jockey who competes in American Thoroughbred horse racing. Based in Kentucky, he has won 19 jockey titles at Churchill Downs and has won meets at Ellis Park, Lone Star Park, Sam Housto ...

) * 2005 - Lord of the Game ( Eusebio Razo, Jr.) * 2004 - Crafty Shaw (

Craig Perret Craig Perret (born February 2, 1951, in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He began riding horses at age five and by seven was riding quarter horses in match races. At age fifteen he began his career in thorou ...

) * 2003 - Apt to Be ( Eusebio Razo, Jr.) * 2002 - Bonapaw ( Gerard Melancon) * 2001 - Bright Valour (

Robby Albarado Robby J. Albarado (born September 11, 1973) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He began riding at the age of 10 and progressed to riding at bush tracks in his native Louisiana by the age of 12. After turning professional, he earned ...

) * 2000 - Bright Valour ( Jesse Campbell) * 1999 - No Race * 1998 - No race * * 1997 - Announce * 1996 - Golden Gear * 1995 - Tarzan's Blase * 1994 - Slerp * 1993 - Split Run * 1992 - Katahaula County * 1967 - Renewed Vigor ( Martinez Heath)

References

The Hanshin Cup Handicap at the NTRA
{Dead link, date=January 2020 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Horse races in Kentucky Open mile category horse races Horse races established in 1941 Arlington Park 1941 establishments in Illinois Churchill Downs horse races