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
Churchill Downs other summer music festivals. HullabaLOU attracted 78,000 people but that fell short of the more than 100,000 expected by the company. The company attributed this to the brutal heat, but others cited high ticket prices in a poor economy. The entertainment division lost more than $5 million int its first year and was discontinued. On Wednesday, June 22, 2011, an EF2 tornado hit the Louisville area, striking the stables and chapel at Churchill Downs, though only at EF1 intensity at the time. Several stables were badly damaged, as was the chapel. Over 200 horses had to be evacuated from the