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
Is It True (horse) the Grade I Champagne Stakes, and second in a maiden race. However, in their most important meeting of 1988, run on a muddy track at Churchill Downs, Is It True defeated Easy Goer in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile by a little over a length, though Easy Goer won the Eclipse Award for American Champion Two Year Old Male. For owner Eugene Klein, it was his third straight win in the Juvenile. In an August 8, 2007 article, ESPN's Jeremy Plonk wrote that "Easy Goer's loss, on a muddy track at Churchill Downs, in the 1988 Juvenile to Is It True