Matt Winn Stakes Matt Winn Stakes The Matt Winn Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid May or early June at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Open to three-year-old horses, it is contested on dirt and began at a distance of six furlongs. The event currently offers a purse of $100,000 added. In 2009 the distance was set at 7 furlongs. In 2011, it was changed to its current miles. The race was inaugurated in 2002 as the Northern Dancer Stakes. Its name was changed in 2011 to honor Kentucky Derby and Churchill Downs's Col. Matt Winn, who served
American Quarter Horse as a race horse and for its performance in rodeos, horse shows and as a working ranch horse. The compact body of the American Quarter Horse is well-suited to the intricate and speedy maneuvers required in reining, cutting, working cow horse, barrel racing, calf roping, and other western riding events, especially those involving live cattle. The American Quarter Horse is also shown in English disciplines, driving, and many other equestrian activities. In the 17th century, colonists on the eastern seaboard of what today is the United States began to cross imported English Thoroughbred horses with assorted "native" horses such as