The Round Table Stakes was 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 ...

run on dirt and on turf forty-four times between 1961 and 2007. First run at Washington Park Race Track in

Homewood, Illinois Homewood is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,463 at the 2020 census. The village sits just a few miles south of Chicago proper. It is bordered by Chicago Heights and Flossmoor to the south, Hazel Crest ...

as the Round Table Handicap, in 1963 it was moved to

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 ...

racetrack in Arlington Heights. In 1985 a fire destroyed the track's grandstand and clubhouse and its races were hosted that year by Chicago's

Hawthorne Race Course Hawthorne Race Course is a racetrack for horse racing in Stickney, Illinois, near Chicago. The oldest continually run family-owned racetrack in North America, in 2009 the Horseplayers Association of North America introduced a rating system for ...

. A stakes race open to three-year-old horses, it was last contested on Polytrack synthetic dirt over a distance of one and one-eighth miles. From inception through 1968, it was a handicap race for horses age three and older. The race was named for

Round Table The Round Table (; ; ; ) is King Arthur's famed table (furniture), table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status, unlike co ...

, the 1958

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 ...

and U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. Round Table retired with earnings of $1,749,869, the most for any horse in world Thoroughbred racing history. Kerr Stable's win with Rambler II in the 1964 edition of the Round Table Handicap was particularly special for stable owner Travis Kerr who was the owner of Round Table. The Round Table was run in two divisions in 1974, 1975 and 1983. It was not run in 1988, 1998 and 1999. Notable past winners include John Henry who won his first graded stakes in impressive style with a twelve-length margin of victory in the September 16, 1978 Round Table Handicap. In its last running in 2007, the colt Pavarotti set a track record in winning the 2007 edition of the Round Table Stakes. The race was slated to be run in 2008 but was placed on hiatus and dropped from the 2009 schedule.

Track

Surface

* Turf (31) : 1961–1972, 1974–1987, 1989–1993 (31) * Dirt (13) : 1973, 1994–1997, 2000–2006 (12) * Polytrack (1) : 2007 (1)

Distances

* 1 mile (2) : 1973, 1974 * 1 1/16 miles (14) : 1961–1962, 1964–1966, 1968–1972, 1975–1978 * 1 1/8 miles (24) : 1963, 1967, 1979–1984, 1986–1987, 1992–1997, 2000–2007 * 1 3/16 miles (4) : 1985, 1989–1991

Records

Speed record: * 1:42 flat @ 1 1/16 miles on turf: Rambler II (1964) * 1:47.40 @ 1 1/8 miles on turf: World Class Splash (1992) * 1:47.73 @1 1/8 miles on dirt: Devilment 1:47.73 (2005) 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 – Herberto Hinojosa (1963, 1964) * 2 –

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 ...

(1966, 1984) * 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 ...

(1980, 1982) * 2 – Don Brumfield (1983, 1985) * 2 – Don Pettinger (1996, 2004) Most wins by a trainer: * 2 – Harry Trotsek (1962, 1974) * 2 – MacKenzie Miller (1967, 1969) * 2 – Robin Frank (1981, 1983) * 2 – Steven Penrod (1982, 1990) * 2 – Richard J. Lundy (1989, 1991) * 2 – Donnie K. Von Hemel (1996, 2004) Most wins by an owner: * 2 – Hasty House Farm (1962, 1974) * 2 – Cragwood Stables (1967, 1969) * 2 – Ogden Phipps (1970, 1976) * 2 – Pin Oak Stable (2004, 2005)

Winners

References

{{reflist Flat horse races for three-year-olds Ungraded stakes races in the United States Discontinued horse races in the United States Arlington Park Horse races established in 1961 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2007