The Blue Grass Stakes, currently the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes due to sponsorship by the

Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

, is a

horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

for 3-year-old

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

s held annually in April at

Keeneland Racecourse Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for it ...

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

. The race is run at miles on the dirt and currently offers a purse of $1,000,000. The Blue Grass Stakes was a Grade I event from 1974 (when grading was first introduced) through 1989 and again from 1999 to 2016. It was a Grade II event from 2017 to 2021, and returned to a Grade I in 2022. It was named for the

Bluegrass region The Bluegrass region is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It makes up the central and northern part of the state, roughly bounded by the cities of Frankfort, Kentucky, Frankfort, Paris, Kentucky, Paris, Richmond, Kentucky, Ric ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, characterized by grass having bluish-green culms, which is known as the "heart" of the thoroughbred racing industry. First run at the

Kentucky Association The Kentucky Association (also known as the Kentucky Racing Association E. Polk Johnson, ''A Hist ...

track in Lexington in 1911, the Blue Grass has, from its inception, served as an important prep for the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

. At the Lexington Association track, the Blue Grass was staged from 1911 through 1914 and from 1919 through 1926.''Daily Racing Form'', 1945-06-02, Lexington Association's Blue Grass Stakes history
/ref> The race was revived at

Keeneland Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for ...

in the spring of 1937. In 1943–1944, the Blue Grass was renewed as a part of the Keeneland-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 ...

meeting. In 1945, the Blue Grass was run as part of the Churchill Downs meeting. Today it is part of the Keeneland program. From 2007 to 2014, the race was held on a synthetic "all-weather" surface. Otherwise, it has been run on a dirt surface.

Records (Keeneland)

Fastest Time: (at Current Distance of miles) * 1:47.20 –

Skip Away Skip Away (April 4, 1993 – May 14, 2010), was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 1998 Horse of the Year, 1996 Champion Three-Year-Old, and 1997 and 1998 Champion Handicap Horse. He won 10 Grade One races for $9,616,360 in ...

(1996) Most wins by an owner * 6 –

Calumet Farm Calumet Farm is a Thoroughbred breeding and training farm established in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. Calumet is located in the heart of the Bluegrass ...

(1938, 1943, 1947, 1948, 1968, 1978) 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 ...

* 6 –

Bill Shoemaker William Lee Shoemaker (August 19, 1931 – October 12, 2003) was an American jockey, considered one of the greatest. For 29 years he held the world record for the most professional jockey victories. Early life Referred to as "Bill", "Willie," ...

(1959, 1960, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1982) Most wins by a trainer: * 4 –

Todd A. Pletcher Todd Pletcher (born June 26, 1967, in Dallas, Texas) is an American thoroughbred horse trainer. He won the Eclipse Award eight times as Trainer of the Year, four of these in consecutive years. His horses Super Saver (2010) and Always Dreaming (2 ...

(2005, 2008, 2015, 2023)

Winners

* 1951 – The race was made up of two heats.

Sonic Sonic or Sonics may refer to: Companies *Sonic Drive-In, an American drive-in, fast-food restaurant chain * Sonic (ISP), an Internet provider CLEC, serving more than 100 California communities * Sonic Foundry, a computer software company whic ...

won the second heat but was disqualified and placed fourth.

Winners of the Lexington Association Blue Grass Stakes

References

{{reflist

External links

Toyota Blue Grass Stakes official website

Keeneland official website

NTRA entry on Toyota Blue Grass Stakes
Keeneland horse races Flat horse races for three-year-olds Triple Crown Prep Races Grade 2 stakes races in the United States Graded stakes races in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1911 1911 establishments in Kentucky

Records (Keeneland)

Winners

Winners of the Lexington Association Blue Grass Stakes

See also

References

External links