- Arlington Million
Turf race infobox
class = Grade 1
horse race = Arlington Million
caption =
location =Arlington Park Arlington Heights, Illinois
inaugurated = 1981
race type = Thoroughbred
website = [http://www.arlingtonpark.com/ Arlington Park web site]
distance = 1 ¼ miles
track = Turf, Left-handed
qualification = 3-y-o & Up, Thoroughbreds
weight = Weight for age
purse = $1,000,000
bonuses = The Arlington Million is a Grade 1 flat horse race in theUnited States forthoroughbred horses aged three years and upward. It is raced over a distance of 1¼ miles (approximately 2,000 metres) on the turf atArlington Park , Arlington Heights,Illinois (a suburb ofChicago ) in August.Part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series, the winner of the 2008 Arlington Million automatically qualifies for the
Breeders' Cup Turf . [http://www.breederscup.com/challenge.aspx]The Arlington Million was introduced in 1981 by Joe Joyce, the President of Arlington at the time. The track famously ran the Arlington Million in 1985 under the shadow of a burnt out grandstand, the victim of a fire 25 days earlier. The horse John Henry succeeded in winning the race twice.
On August 30, 1981,
Willie Shoemaker became the first jockey to win a $1 million race when John Henry took the inaugural Arlington Million by a nose over The Bart.In 2007, Jambalaya became the first Canadian bred horse to win the Arlington Million and his trainer,
Catherine Day Phillips the first female trainer to ever win the race.Records
Time record:
* 1:58.69 -Awad (1995)Most wins:
* 2 - John Henry (1981, 1984)Most wins by an owner:
* 2 -Dotsam Stable (1981, 1984),Juddmonte Farms (2000, 2002)Most wins by a
jockey :
* 2 -Laffit Pincay, Jr. (1982, 1991),Cash Asmussen (1988, 1992),Jose Santos (1990, 1993),Gary L. Stevens (1990, 1997),Jerry D. Bailey (2000, 2002)Most wins by a trainer:
* 3 -Ron McAnally (1981, 1984, 1991),Charlie Whittingham (1982, 1986, 1990)Largest Margin of Victory:
* Estrapade (1986), Five LengthsPast Winners
*
Storming Home finished first in 2003 but was demoted to fourth place following a Stewards' Inquiry.
** Powerscourt finished first in 2004 but was demoted to fourth place following a Stewards' Inquiry.Notes
* No races were held at Arlington International Racecourse in 1998 or 1999, as the Illinois horse racing authorities did not authorise dates for the track. The 1988 race was held at
Woodbine Racetrack ,Ontario ,Canada .* Starting in 1991, timing was arranged to hundredths.
* From 1983 until 1986, the race was known as the Budweiser Million.
* In 2004, Pat Gibson won a million pounds on the UK version of "
Who Wants to be a Millionaire? " by correctly answering the Million was not aTriple Crown race in the United States.* Starting in 2007, the winner of this race will qualify for the Breeders Cup World Thoroughbred Championships in the Turf Division.
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