The 2020 Belmont Stakes is history, and TIZ THE LAW twas, as advertised, much the best in that race. One leg of the askew Triple Crown down, two to go. So let us move on.
Churchill Downs has a wonderful day of racing this Saturday, highlighted by the $500,000 dollar Stephen Foster Stakes, a race that has always attracted some of the best older horses, and this year is no exception.
Find some helpful, as well as trivial knowledge on this year’s race below.
1. The race is named after the composer of the Kentucky state song, Stephen Foster. Foster created My Old Kentucky Home as well as famous tunes like Oh! Susanna and Camptown Races.
2. The Stephen Foster is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Race, meaning the Winner automatically receives a berth into the World Championships this fall. The Foster awards the Winner a spot in the $6 million dollar Breeders’ Cup Classic.
3. Al Stall Jr. is the only trainer in this year’s race who has Won the race before. He trained BLAME to Victory in 2010 and has TOM’S D’ETAT this year.
4. GUN RUNNER (2017) is the last horse to Win the Stephen Foster and the Breeders’ Cup Classic in the same year. Four others have also done so: BLACK TIE AFFAIR (1991); AWESOME AGAIN (1998); SAINT LIAM (2005); and BLAME (2010).
5. SEEK GOLD earned his backers a whopping $186.00 dollars for a $2 Win bet when he Won the 2006 edition at 92-1 odds. He is the biggest long-shot ever to Win the race.
6. No jockey has more than three Wins in the race. Pat Day and Robby Albarado are tied with a record trio of Wins apiece.
7. HONOR MEDAL is the oldest horse to ever Win the race, doing so as a 7 year-old in 1988. TOM’S D’ETAT (also seven), will try to duplicate that feat this year.
8. Four Stephen Foster Winners were named Horse of the Year that same year: GUN RUNNER (2017), CURLIN (2008), SAINT LIAM (2005), and BLACK TIE AFFAIR (1991).
9. The Stephen Foster has historically been a race that does not hold form, with the betting favorite Winning just 21% of the time. In fact, GUN RUNNER is the only favorite to Win in the last 11 editions of the race.
On Friday the Daily Racing Blog will take a look at the field for this years contest.
