Kentucky Oaks 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 known as the Louisville Jockey Club.
Churchill Downs Incorporated Incorporated established the Green Pastures Program in partnership with the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, a leading American racehorse rescue and adoption organization. In 2005, Hollywood Park was sold to Bay Meadows Land Company for $257.5 million, and Ellis Park was sold to businessman Ron Geary in September 2006. In December 2006, Churchill Downs Inc. sold its remaining interest in Hoosier Park to Centaur Inc. In the fall of 2007, Fair Grounds reopened to include a gaming facility adjacent to the track grandstand. In January 2010, Churchill Downs added the casino venue to Calder Race Course. On May 2, 2007, CDI launched