The Louisville Stakes is Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for horses age four years and older run over a distance of one and one half miles (12 furlongs) on the Turf scheduled annually in late May or early June at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
The event is named in honor of the city of Louisville where the Churchill Downs racetrack is located.
[4] In 1946 the event once again resumed in the late fall, initially as the Churchill Downs Special and then back to the original name in 1947 at the distance of 1+1⁄8 miles.
Since its inauguration in 1895, two horses have won this race three times, both accomplishing the rare feet in consecutive years.
† In 2002, Two Point Two Mill won but was disqualified after an incident in the stretch and was set back to eighth place.