Iroquois Stakes (Churchill Downs) race has been run at a distance of mile. The Iroquois (pronounced "Ear-Ah-Coy") is named for Iroquois, the first American horse to win the English Epsom Derby. 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
Havre de Grace (horse) over Flat Out, joining the 2009 American Horse of the Year, Rachel Alexandra, as the only female horses to win the race. Her Woodward victory was followed by the October 1 Grade I Beldame Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, in which she scored by 8 1/4 lengths over eventual Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic winner Royal Delta. Havre de Grace closed out her 2011 campaign in the Breeders' Cup Classic on November 5, 2011, at Churchill Downs where she was again pitted against male horses. However, she fell short in her attempt to join Zenyatta in becoming only