Mint Julep Handicap Mint Julep Handicap The Mint Julep Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky. Usually run in May or June, the Grade III event is open to fillies and mares age three and older. It is contested on Turf over a distance of one and one sixteenth miles (8.5 furlongs). The race is named for the Mint Julep, a popular drink with racing fans at Churchill Downs, particularly seen on Kentucky Derby day. Beginning in 2001, the Mint Julep Handicap became the Old Forester Mint Julep Handicap for sponsorship reasons. It currently
American Quarter Horse hence the nickname. Horses listed in the appendix may be entered in competition, but offspring are not initially eligible for full AQHA registration. If the Appendix horse meets certain conformational criteria and is shown or raced successfully in sanctioned AQHA events, the horse can earn its way from the appendix into the permanent studbook, making its offspring eligible for AQHA registration. Since Quarter Horse/Thoroughbred crosses continue to enter the official registry of the American Quarter Horse breed, this creates a continual gene flow from the Thoroughbred breed into the American Quarter Horse breed, which has altered many of the characteristics