Kentucky Oaks founder of the Louisville Jockey Club. Kentucky Oaks The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers at Churchill Downs; the horses carry . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday before the Kentucky Derby each year. The winner gets $600,000 of the $1M purse and a large garland of lilies, affectionately called the "Lillies for the Fillies." A silver Kentucky Oaks Trophy is presented to the winner. The first running of the Kentucky Oaks was on May 19, 1875, when Churchill Downs was
Ashton (horse) horses including Constantia, the dam of the St Leger winner Ebor. Serpent, a son of Eclipse, sired no other horses of consequence. Ashton's dam Miss Haworth was a member of Thoroughbred family 29 and therefore closely related to several notable horses including Rowton and Landscape. Ashton was unraced as a two-year-old and made his racecourse debut on 30 May 1809 at York Racecourse. He started the 6/5 favourite for a sweepstakes over one and three quarter miles and won "very easy" from Lord Fitzwilliam's colt Whitenose. In summer he ran a trial race against the stable's 1808 St Leger winner