Aristides Stakes Aristides Stakes The Aristides Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and older over a distance of six furlongs on the dirt held annually in early June at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. . The race currently offers a purse of $100,000. The Aristides Stakes is named in honor of the racehorse Aristides who won the inaugural Kentucky Derby in 1875 on the Churchill Downs track. The race itself was inaugurated in 1989 and run at a distance of furlongs. Bet on Sunshine, the only two-time winner in the race's history, set a new track record
Justify (horse) the trainer of the last Triple Crown winner, American Pharoah in 2015, and followed a similar training regimen with Justify at Churchill Downs until shipping to New York a few days before the Belmont. Baffert noted that one of the main differences between the two horses was their attitude: American Pharoah is known as a kind, easy going horse whereas Justify is more dominant. "You have to watch him," said Baffert. "He likes to push you around. He's not a mean horse, but his patience level with people is, like, five seconds." The 2018 Belmont Stakes was run on June