Matt Winn Stakes Matt Winn Stakes The Matt Winn Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid May or early June at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Open to three-year-old horses, it is contested on dirt and began at a distance of six furlongs. The event currently offers a purse of $100,000 added. In 2009 the distance was set at 7 furlongs. In 2011, it was changed to its current miles. The race was inaugurated in 2002 as the Northern Dancer Stakes. Its name was changed in 2011 to honor Kentucky Derby and Churchill Downs's Col. Matt Winn, who served
Churchill Downs other summer music festivals. HullabaLOU attracted 78,000 people but that fell short of the more than 100,000 expected by the company. The company attributed this to the brutal heat, but others cited high ticket prices in a poor economy. The entertainment division lost more than $5 million int its first year and was discontinued. On Wednesday, June 22, 2011, an EF2 tornado hit the Louisville area, striking the stables and chapel at Churchill Downs, though only at EF1 intensity at the time. Several stables were badly damaged, as was the chapel. Over 200 horses had to be evacuated from the