The Secretariat 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 three-year-olds over a distance of one 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'', ...

. The event was originally raced 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 ...

in Arlington Heights,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

as a supporting stakes race on the Arlington Million racing program.

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 ...

, whose

parent company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

owns the land of the defunct Arlington Park racetrack, originally planned to run the Secretariat Stakes in 2022, but the race was not run due to issues with the Churchill Downs turf course. The 2023 race was re-scheduled to be run at Churchill-owned

Colonial Downs Colonial Downs is a Race track, racetrack located in New Kent County, Virginia adjacent to Interstate 64, halfway between Richmond, Virginia, Richmond and Williamsburg, Virginia, Williamsburg. The track conducted Thoroughbred flat racing and Stand ...

in Virginia.

History

Precursor — Arlington Invitational

In 1973, after Secretariat became the first U.S. Triple Crown winner in twenty five years, many race tracks wanted to have him race at their tracks. Arlington racetrack management offered to run him in the

American Derby The American Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race first run at Chicago's old Washington Park Race Track on the city's South Side and raced there until 1905 when the facility was closed following the state's ban on gambling, and horse ra ...

but it was too soon after his

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over the worldwide classic distance of . Colt (horseracing), Colt ...

victory. Instead, management established an event that would enhance Secretariat's connections. This event was called the Arlington Invitational with $125,000 stakes offered in order to showcase Secretariat to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

racing fans and it was held 30 June 1973. A crowd of 41,223 witnessed seeing the three challengers grouped as a single betting entry at 6–1 and Secretariat was 1–20 odds-on which created a minus pool of $17,941. Secretariat won the miles race by nine lengths in 1:47 flat, just off the track record set by

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

with My Gallant and Our Native running second and third respectively. Both of these horses had lost to the champion in the Triple Crown series. The performance produced a lasting impression on Arlington Park management.

Event

One year and one day after Secretariat's performance at Arlington Park, track management scheduled a race to honor him. The inaugural event was held 30 June 1974 over a distance of miles on the

. The race was won in an upset with the 39-1 longshot Glossary winning. The event was set with

status. It was run over in 1975/76 and extended to from 1978 to 1984, before settling at miles from 1985 to 2018. In 1984 the event was upgraded to Grade I status. In 1985 the event was held at Hawthorne Race Course over a shorter distance of miles. There was no race run in 1988, 1998 and 1999. In 2005 it was included in the Grand Slam of Grass, which offered a substantial bonus to the winner of this race, the Colonial Turf Cup, the

Virginia Derby The Virginia Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds over a distance of one and one-eighth miles on the dirt held annually in March at Colonial Downs in New Kent County, Virginia. The event currently carries a purse of ...

and the Breeders' Cup Turf. In 2019 the race was shortened to one mile. In 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United States On December 31, 2019, China announced the discovery of a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan. The first American case was reported on January 20, and United States Department of Health and Human Services, Health and Human Services Secreta ...

, Arlington Park did not schedule the event in its abbreviated season. During the last year of racing at Arlington Park in 2021, the race was renamed the Bruce D. Stakes in honor of the late Bruce Duchossois, the son of track owner Richard L. Duchossois. In March 2022

Churchill Downs Incorporated Churchill Downs Incorporated is the parent company of Churchill Downs. The company has evolved from one racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky, to a multi American-state-wide, publicly traded company with racetracks, casinos and an online wagering comp ...

(owner of the Arlington Park property) announced that it would move the Secretariat Stakes to

along with several of Arlington's traditional stakes races, including the Arlington Million. A week and a half before the Secretariat was supposed to be run, Churchill announced that the Secretariat would not be contested due to issues with the Churchill Downs turf course, while the other major turf stakes formerly run at Arlington—the Arlington Million and the Beverly D. Stakes—would be run as scheduled. In December 2022 an agreement was reached between Churchill Downs and the American Graded Stakes Committee to move the 2023 Arlington Million and its supporting races, including the Secretariat Stakes, to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Records

Race record: * 1 mile: 1:35.10 – Gigante (2023) * miles: 1:59.65 – Kitten's Joy (2004) * miles: 2:29.80 – Mac Diarmida (1978) Margins: * lengths – Stately Don (1987) Most wins by an owner: * 5 – Michael Tabor (1996, 2000, 2011, 2014, 2015) 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 ...

: * 3 – Pat Day (1983, 1991, 1995) * 3 – Kent Desormeaux (2002, 2009, 2010) * 3 –

Javier Castellano Javier Castellano (born October 23, 1977) is a Venezuelan jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. Castellano won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey four times in a row from 2013 to 2016. In 2023 he won two legs of the American Tripl ...

(2003, 2019, 2023) Most wins by a trainer: * 4 – Aidan O'Brien (2000, 2011, 2014, 2015)

Winners

''Legend:''

''Notes:''
§ Ran as an

entry Entry may refer to: *Entry, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States *Entry (cards), a term used in trick-taking card-games *Entry (economics), a term in connection with markets *Entry (film), ''Entry'' (film), a 2013 Indian ...

with stablemate Unbridled

References