Champagne Stakes (USA)
| Grade I race | |
| Location |
Belmont Park Elmont, New York, United States |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1867 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred - Flat racing |
| Website | www |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1 mile (8 furlongs) |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Track | left-handed |
| Qualification | Two-year-olds |
| Weight | 122 pounds |
| Purse | $500,000 (since 2013) |
The Champagne Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old horses. The race is run at a distance of one mile on the dirt at Belmont Park in October each year. Although the race is open to both colts and fillies, in practice it is New York's premier race for two-year-old colts and fillies enter the Frizette Stakes instead.
The race is a Road to the Kentucky Derby Prep Season qualifying race. The winner receives 10 points toward qualifying for the Kentucky Derby.
The race is also a part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series. The winner automatically qualifies for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
The race was first run in 1867, and it is the oldest race of its kind in the United States. It was given the same name as the British Champagne Stakes which has been run annually since 1823 at the Doncaster Racecourse in South Yorkshire, England.
There was no Champagne Stakes run from 1910 through 1913, due to a legislated ban by the State of New York on parimutuel wagering, and no race was held in 1956.
Notable past winners who have gone on to success as three-year-olds or older include U.S. Triple Crown champions Seattle Slew, and Count Fleet and others such as Ben Brush, Colin, Sarazen, Alsab, Grey Lag, Buckpasser, Riva Ridge, Foolish Pleasure, Alydar, Spectacular Bid, and Easy Goer, all of whom are now in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Easy Goer ran the best Beyer Speed Figure performance(in the 1988 Champagne Stakes) by any 2-year-old since Beyer racing figures were first published.
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