The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies run annually in Louisville, Kentucky….in a race which currently covers 11⁄8 miles (1,800 m) at Churchill Downs….as the horses carry 121 pounds (55 kg). The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday before the Kentucky Derby each year. The winner gets $600,000 of the $1M purse….along with a large garland of lilies affectionately called the “Lillies for the Fillies”….as a silver Kentucky Oaks Trophy is presented to the winner.
The first running of the Kentucky Oaks was on May 19, 1875….when Churchill Downs was known as the Louisville Jockey Club….as the race was founded by Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr…..along with the Kentucky Derby….the Clark Handicap….and the Falls City Handicap. The Oaks and the Derby are the oldest continuously contested sporting events in American history. The Kentucky Oaks was modeled after the British Epsom Oaks….which has been run annually at Epsom Downs since 1779. In the first race, the horse Vinaigrette won the then 11⁄2 mile race in a time of 2:39 and winning a purse of $1,175. Since that race, the Kentucky Oaks has been held each year.
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….whereas in 1980, attendance reached about 50,000 people…and by 1989, it had increased to about 67,000. 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….as the attendance of the Kentucky Oaks typically only trails the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.
