The Churchill Downs Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for four-year-old and older sprinters run over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt annually in early May at Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky as an undercard event on Kentucky Derby day. The event currently offers a purse of $750,000. History The inaugural running of the event was as the Churchill Downs Handicap took place on closing day of the Churchill Downs Spring meeting, June 6, 1911, as a three-year-old and over race over a distance of miles with five starters and was won by Carlton G. in track record time of 1:51 under jockey George Taplin for owner and trainer Lon Johnson. The following year longshot Any Port equalled the record 1:51 winning by lengths. The event was held once more at the miles distance in 1913 before the track would have the race mothballed until 1938. In 1938 the event was reinstated at a distance of seven furlongs but was extended to one mile for the 1940 running. Louise Hickman's Arab's Arrow would win the event three years straight including a dead heat victory with Kings Blue in 1939. In 1947 the event was held on opening day of the spring meeting at a shortened distance of seven furlongs. In 1949 the event only attracted four starters of which two were a Calumet Farm entry of Free America and the 1947 American Horse of the Year Armed thus enabling Churchill Downs to hold the event as a non betting Exhibition Race. The 1951 before a crowd of 18,000 on opening day of the spring meeting the winner of the event was the Detroit based sprinter Johns Joy who broke the seven furlongs time record in 1:22 which was held by Distinction and stood since 1921. The distance of the event was decreased to six furlongs for four running held from 1952 to 1955. Soon after return to the now distance of seven furlongs, in 1958 Shac Pan set a new track record of 1:22 flat winning by a head over Ezgo. The event was held in split divisions twice - 1982 and 1985. In 1983 the conditions of the event were modified from handicap to stakes allowance for four-year-olds and older which reflect in the name of the event. Since 1986 the event has been scheduled on the same day as the Kentucky Derby.