Ben Ali (horse) him to shun the Derby. News traveled in the East Coast horse racing circuits of Haggin's treatment in Louisville, causing many Eastern horsemen to boycott the Kentucky Derby during the 1890s and early 20th century. Bookmakers returned for the 1887 Derby, but the field quality and race profits dropped dramatically over the years until Churchill Downs was facing closure in 1903. Churchill Downs was sold to a syndicate led by Matt Winn in 1903. Ben Ali is reported to have died at around 20 years of age (c. 1903) at Haggin's Rancho del Paso stud in California. Ben Ali (horse)
Wise Dan Stakes event in 2002. The race was renamed as the Wise Dan Stakes in 2016 in honor of two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan, who won the race in 2011 in his Turf Debut. The distance was changed from 8 furlongs to 8.5 furlongs at the same time. Wise Dan Stakes The Wise Dan Stakes, formerly known as the Firecracker Handicap, is an American thoroughbred horse race run annually on the turf course at Churchill Downs. The Grade II event is open to horses, age three and up, willing to race one and one sixteenth of a mile and currently