Alysheba Stakes Alysheba Stakes The Alysheba Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky. The Alysheba became the most recent addition to the Derby Week stakes lineup as it joined the schedule in 2004 and is currently run on the undercard of the Kentucky Oaks, the day before the Kentucky Derby. It was the first stakes to join the Derby Week lineup since 1997. The event is named for the talented 1987 Kentucky Derby winner and United States Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Alysheba, who returned to the Downs in 1988 to win the
Cardinal Handicap of $100,000. Cardinal Handicap The Cardinal Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky during its fall meet. The Grade III Cardinal is open to fillies and mares three-years-old and up and set at a distance of one and one eighth mile on the turf. At its current distance of nine furlongs, Miss Caerleona holds the record of 1:47.81. The 2017 edition of the race, won by Tricky Escape, was run on dirt as the turf course was deemed unfit for racing. The race's Gr.III status was kept for 2017. It currently offers