Grade I Turf Clashes Return to Arlington

Some of the best turf-racing horses in America will gather at Arlington Park in mid-August as the Illinois track hosts a trio of Grade I races. In addition to the world famous Arlington Million, race fans will have a chance to cheer them on in the $750,000 Beverly D. Stakes as well as the $400,000 Secretariat Stakes. Both races are run over the Arlington Turf course, the Beverly D. at 1 3/16 miles, and the Secretariat at the classic 1 1/4 miles distance.

The gals run on grass in the Beverly D. Stakes

Like the Arlington Million, the Beverly D. Stakes is for fillies and mares, three-years-old and up, is considered a ‘Win and Your’re In” challenge event for the Breeders' Cup Championships, as the winner automatically qualifies for a spot in the field of the BC Filly and Mare Turf. Irish-bred I’ma Dreamer, the Beverly D. winner last year, went on to finish sixth at the BC. The first winner of the Beverly D. in 1987 was the Canadian invader Dancing on a Cloud. The track record time for this key Breeders' Cup qualifier is 1:51.2 and was set by Reluctant Guest in 1990.

Stake race honors the mighty Secretariat

Named for perhaps the greatest thoroughbred in American racing history, the Secretariat grew out of what had been called the Arlington Invitational, a race created in 1973 as a way to showcase the Triple Crown champion to Chicago racing fans. To no one’s surprise, Big Red won that race, and the next year the name was changed in his honor. In 2004, Kitten’s Joy set the race record at 1:59.3, a mere one-fifth off the record time Secretariat had set for the same distance in the 1973 Kentucky Derby. It's a great summer for Illinois horse racing fans!