Churchill Newcomb of John Churchill and William Henry Churchill who donated the land for Churchill Downs, the home of the Kentucky Derby. Engaging in the family pastime, Newcomb attended horse shows. In 1928, he attended a breakfast of notables at the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden that featured Governor Al Smith as the guest of honor. Newcomb also owned a chestnut mare named Friskie that he raced in horse racing events in Kentucky and Virginia. In 1928, Friskie won the hunter trophy at the Orange Horse Show in Orange, Virginia. Friskie also captured the first leg on a challenge cup
Eight Belles Stakes Eight Belles Stakes The Eight Belles Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old filly sprinters run at a distance of 7 furlongs at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky each year on Kentucky Oaks Day. Raced as the Oaks Prep from 1956 to 1966, it was then renamed the La Troienne Stakes from 1967 to 2008 for one of the greatest broodmares in the United States throughout the twentieth century, La Troienne. In June 2008, Churchill Downs announced that beginning in 2009 this race would be called the Eight Belles Stakes in honor of the deceased filly,