Churchill Downs Churchill Downs Churchill Downs, located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for annually hosting the Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs has also hosted the renowned Breeders' Cup on nine occasions, most recently on November 2 and 3, 2018. Churchill Downs Incorporated owns and operates the racetrack. With the infield open for the Kentucky Derby, the capacity of Churchill Downs is roughly 170,000. In 2009, the Horseplayers Association of North America introduced a
The Very One Stakes The Very One Stakes The Very One Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. Open to fillies and mares three years old and up, it is contested over a distance of five furlongs on turf. The Very One Stakes is run on the third Friday of May each year on the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes under card. The race is run on the "Filly Friday" of Preakness Stakes weekend. The race was not run between 1994 and 2000. The first year the race was run in 1993, it was contested at miles