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
Stellar Wind (horse) doing.'". On May 1, Stellar Wind started as the slight favorite in a fourteen-horse field for the Kentucky Oaks, which was contested over nine furlongs at Churchill Downs. She broke poorly and had to stay towards the rear of the field, but made steady progress while being forced to run nine horses wide on the final turn. She kept moving steadily, but never looked likely to win, and finished fourth, beaten 4 3/4 lengths by Lovely Maria, Shook Up, and I'm A Chatterbox. After the race, Espinoza stated: “She broke just a bit slow and that was a problem. I