The Wise Dan Stakes is 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 ...

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 ...

for horses four-year-old and older run at a distance of one and one sixteenth of a mile on the

turf Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses. In British and Australian English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', ...

held annually in June 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 ...

racetrack 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 ...

History

The event was inaugurated on 4 July 1983 as the Firecracker Handicap over a distance of 7 furlongs on a sloppy dirt track and was won by Shot n' Missed who defeated the odds on favorite Dave's Friend in a five horse field. In the third running in 1985 the winner Rapid Gray set a new track record for the distance in a time of 1:21. The event was discontinued for seven years and when it was revived in 1993 it was held on the turf course over a distance of one mile. The event was classified as Grade III in 1995, and upgraded to Grade II in 2002. The event attracted several champion turf runners including

Kitten's Joy Kitten's Joy (May 8, 2001 – July 15, 2022) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who was a multiple graded stakes winner and the American Champion Turf Horse of 2004. Since retiring to stud, he became one of the leading sires in North America and has ...

who won the event in 2004 and later that year became U.S. Champion Male Turf Horse and

Miesque's Approval Miesque's Approval (foaled March 3, 1999 in Florida) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2006 Breeders' Cup Mile and was voted that year's American Champion Male Turf Horse. He was bred and raced by Charlotte Weber's Live Oak Planta ...

who won this event in 2006 and later that year would capture the

Breeders' Cup Mile The Breeders' Cup Mile is a conditions races, Grade 1 Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up, run on a sod, grass course. It has been conducted annually as part of the Breeders' Cup, Breeders' Cup World C ...

. The only duel winner was

Wise Dan Wise Dan (foaled February 20, 2007) is a champion American Hall of Fame and Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. He is the first horse to win the same three Eclipse Awards in consecutive years, having been named American Horse of the ...

of this event who in 2011 won in his turf debut and 2013. Later in 2013 Wise Dan was crowned

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, or simply Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to san ...

for the second year running. The race was renamed as the Wise Dan Stakes in 2016 The distance was increased from 1 mile to miles also in 2016. The race was placed on hiatus in June 2022 due to the suspension of turf racing at Churchill Downs. In 2023 the event was moved to Ellis Park after Churchill Downs closed their spring meeting earlier due to a spate of injuries.

Records

;Speed records * miles: 1:40.26 – Kasaqui (ARG) (2017) * 1 mile: 1:33.78 – Jaggery John (1995) * 7 furlongs: 1:21.20 – Rapid Gray (1985) ;Margins: * lengths – Soviet Line (IRE) (1997) ;Most wins * 2 –

(2011, 2013) ;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 ...

* 2 –

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 ...

(1999, 2014) * 2 –

Kent J. Desormeaux Kent Jason Desormeaux (born February 27, 1970) is an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who holds the U.S. record for most races won in a single year with 598 wins in 1989. He has won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes t ...

(2008, 2009) * 2 –

Shane Sellers Shane Jude Sellers (born September 24, 1966 in Erath, Louisiana) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. At age eleven, he began working around horses and in 1983 rode his first winner at Evangeline Downs. Sellers won several national r ...

(2000, 2004) * 2 –

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 ...

(1997, 2002) * 2 –

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 ...

(2018, 2021) ;Most wins by a trainer * 4 – Dale L. Romans (2003, 2004, 2008, 2014) ;Most wins by an owner * 2 – Mason Rudd (1994, 1996) * 2 – Gainsborough Farm (1997, 2001) * 2 – Live Oak Plantation (2006, 2019)

Winners

''Legend:''

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

2022 Media guide information from Churchill Downs $400,000 Wise Dan (Grade II) -
Graded stakes races in the United States Grade 2 stakes races in the United States Turf races in the United States Open mile category horse races Churchill Downs horse races Horse races established in 1983 1983 establishments in Kentucky

History

Records

Winners

See also

References

External links