Iroquois Stakes (Churchill Downs) Iroquois Stakes (Churchill Downs) The Iroquois Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race which is the first graded stakes race for Thoroughbred horses on opening day at the Churchill Downs Fall Meet. This first day every fall is devoted entirely to two-year-old racing. The race is a Road to the Kentucky Derby Prep Season qualifying race. The winner receives 10 points toward qualifying for the Kentucky Derby. Prior to 2013 the race was run over at one mile on the dirt track, and open to juveniles only. The Grade III Iroquois currently offers a purse of $150,000. Since 2013, the
Blue Ribbon Downs Blue Ribbon Downs Blue Ribbon Downs was an American horse racing track located in Sallisaw, Sequoyah County, Oklahoma. The facility hosted American Quarter Horse, and Thoroughbred flat racing events until it closed permanently in 2010. Blue Ribbon Downs started when Bill Hedge bought 102 acres just west of Sallisaw in 1960. The track soon became known as a proving ground and gained recognition from the American Quarter Horse Association in 1963. Hedge sold the track to an investment group in 1973. In 1982, Oklahoma voters approved pari-mutuel betting and the first pari-mutuel race at Blue Ribbon Downs occurred August 30,