The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers 1⅛ miles (1811 m) at Churchill Downs; the horses carry 121 pounds (54.9 kg). The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday before the Kentucky Derby each year. The winner gets a $600,000 purse and a large garland of lilies, affectionately called the "Lillies for the Fillies." A silver Kentu...
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The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers 1⅛ miles (1811 m) at Churchill Downs; the horses carry 121 pounds (54.9 kg). The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday before the Kentucky Derby each year. The winner gets a $600,000 purse and a large garland of lilies, affectionately called the "Lillies for the Fillies." 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. 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 history, and the only horse races to be held at their original site since its conception. The Kentucky Oaks was modeled after the British Epsom Oaks. In the first race, the...
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