The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbredfillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers 1+1⁄8 miles (1,800 m) at Churchill Downs; the horses carry 121 pounds (55 kg). The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday before the Kentucky Derby each year. The winner gets $750,000 of the $1,250,000 purse, and a large garland blanket of lilies, resulting in the nickname "Lillies for the Fillies." A silver Kentucky Oaks Trophy is presented to the winner.
The Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby are the oldest continuously contested sporting events in American history.[2] The Kentucky Oaks was modeled after the British Epsom Oaks, which has been run annually at Epsom Downs, Epsom, in Surrey since 1779. In the first race, the horse Vinaigrette won the then 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) mile race in a time of 2:39+3⁄4, winning a purse of $1,175. Since that race, the Kentucky Oaks has been held each year.
In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kentucky Oaks was rescheduled from May 1 to September 4.[3]
The Kentucky Oaks is considered by some to be among the most popular horse races in American horse-racing society due to its high attendance. It has attracted about 100,000 people in attendance each year since 2001's 127th running of the Kentucky Oaks.[4] In 1980, attendance reached about 50,000 people and by 1989, it had increased to about 67,000.[1] The attendance at the Kentucky Oaks ranks third in North America and usually surpasses the attendance of all other stakes races including the Belmont Stakes and the Breeders' Cup. The attendance of the Kentucky Oaks typically only trails the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes; for more information see American thoroughbred racing top attended events.
On Kentucky Oaks Day, Churchill Downs Racetrack is a vision in pink as more than 100,000 guests are asked to incorporate pink into their attire in an effort to drive national attention to the fight against breast and ovarian cancer.
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Despite the increasing number of out-of-state visitors who attend the race every year, the "Oaks" (as local residents simply refer to it) is considered to be a local event by the people of Kentuckiana (the Ohio Valley, centered around Louisville, and consisting of much of northern Kentucky and southern Indiana). Large crowds of Louisvillians and others from the Kentuckiana attend the Oaks annually and the infield of the race track hosts numerous musical attractions, boardwalk games, and food and alcoholic beverage vendors. Bringing in one's own alcohol is forbidden at Churchill Downs and many locals revel in finding ingenious ways to smuggle in their own libations, rather than pay the inflated prices inside Churchill Downs. Most every school and quite a few businesses in the Kentuckiana region treat the Oaks as a holiday. Perhaps out of self-consciousness for the gambling aspect of the race, none of the region's schools declare that the holiday is explicitly because of the Oaks and most simply say it is an "administrative holiday."
Changes in distance
The Kentucky Oaks has been run at four different distances:
1875–1890, the race was 1+1⁄2 miles;
1891–1895, it was 1+1⁄4 miles;
1896–1919, it was 1+1⁄16 miles;
1920–1941, changed to 1+1⁄8 miles;
1942–1981, run at 1+1⁄16 miles; and
1982, set at 1+1⁄8 miles, and it has been that distance since.[1]
Carl used the original German spelling of "Goose", which one of a few spellings was "Ganz", but also Gantz, Gans, and so on.
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The Goose brothers are cousins of Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr., the founder of the Louisville Jockey Club.
