The Stars and Stripes Stakes is a Grade III

Graded stakes race

A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...

 flat

Flat racing

Flat racing is a form of Thoroughbred horse racing which is run over a level track at a predetermined distance. It differs from steeplechase racing which is run over hurdles...

 horse race

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 for thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 horses aged three years and up. It is raced over a distance of 12 furlongs (1 ½ miles) on the turf

Grass

Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...

 course at Arlington Park

Arlington Park

Arlington Park is a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago region has been a popular sport since the early days of the city in the 1830s, and at one time Chicago had more horse racing tracks than any other major metropolitan area...

, Arlington Heights

Arlington Heights, Illinois

Arlington Heights is a village in Cook and Lake counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. A suburb of Chicago, it lies about 25 miles northwest of the city's downtown. The population was 75,101 at the 2010 census....

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 as a lead up race to the Breeders' Cup Turf

Breeders' Cup Turf

The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's current title sponsor is Emirates Airlines.The forerunner...

. The race currently carries a purse of $200,000.

Inaugurated in 1929 it was raced on dirt through 1949 and again in 1974.

Until the advent of the Breeders' Cup

Breeders' Cup

The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Thoroughbred horse races, most but not all Grade I, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, it expanded to two days. The location...

 races, the race was known as the Stars and Stripes Handicap and was an important part of the annual racing calendar. It drew the top horses from across the United States and has been won by a number of U.S. Hall of Fame

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...

 horses as well as U.S. Triple Crown Crown champions War Admiral

War Admiral

War Admiral was an American thoroughbred racehorse, the offspring of the great thoroughbred Man o' War and the mare Brushup. He inherited his father's fiery temperament and talent, but did not resemble him physically...

 and Citation

Citation (horse)

Citation was the eighth American Triple Crown winner, and one of three major North American Thoroughbreds to win at least 16 consecutive races in major stakes race competition...

.

In 2010, the race was set at 1 5/8 miles.

Winners since 2000

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
2011	Free Fighter	6	Tim Thornton	Michael Reavis	Frank Mancari	2:31.98
2010	Memorial Maniac	5	James Graham	Larry Demeritte	Butterfly Stable	2:44.29
2009	Free Fighter	4	James Graham	Chris Block	Team Block/Thomas Fedro Sr.	2:28.31
2008	Silverfoot	8	Rene Douglas	Dallas Stewart Dallas Stewart Dallas Stewart trains a string of thoroughbred horses in Kentucky from bases at Churchill Downs, Turfway Park, Keeneland Race Course, Fair Grounds Race Course, Arlington Park and Saratoga Race Course. Before venturing out on his own, he spent 12 years working under the tutelage of leading trainer...	Chrysalis Stables LLC	2:30.40
2007	Always First	6	Robby Albarado Robby Albarado Robby J. Albarado is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He began riding at the age of 12 at bush tracks in his native Louisiana and after turning professional, earned his first win at Evangeline Downs in 1990...	Tom Voss	Merriefield Farm/Charles Noell	2:31.74
2006	Major Rhythm	7	Earlie Fires Earlie Fires Earlie Stancel Fires is a retired United States' Racing Hall of Fame jockey.Fires began riding professionally in 1964 and led all American apprentices in wins that year with 224. He retired on September 21, 2008 having won 6,470 races at racetracks across North America...	Ed Beam	James Messineo	2:29.93
2005	Revved Up	7	Brice Blanc Brice Blanc Brice Blanc is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing.Blanc attended a jockey's apprentice school in his native France then, encouraged by trainer Ben Cecil, in October 1993 emigrated to the United States where he settled in Southern California and began racing at area tracks...	Christophe Clement Christophe Clement Christophe Clement is a Thoroughbred horse trainer in the United States.- Racing background :Christophe Clement initially acquired his training skills from father Miguel, a leading trainer in France, Christophe later worked for the prominent French racing family of trainer Alec Head...	Live Oak Racing	2:28.29
2004	Ballingarry Ballingarry (horse) Ballingarry is a Thoroughbred racehorse who competed for owners in Europe and North America. Bred and raced by the principals of Coolmore Stud, he was named for the village of Ballingarry in the southern part of County Tipperary in Ireland. In October 2002, he was sold to an American racing...	5	Rene Douglas	Laura de Seroux	Sidney L. Port Trust et al.	2:36.30
2003	Ballingarry Ballingarry (horse) Ballingarry is a Thoroughbred racehorse who competed for owners in Europe and North America. Bred and raced by the principals of Coolmore Stud, he was named for the village of Ballingarry in the southern part of County Tipperary in Ireland. In October 2002, he was sold to an American racing...	4	Rene Douglas	Laura de Seroux	Sidney L. Port Trust et al.	2:28.30
2002	Cetewayo	8	Rene Douglas	Michael Dickinson	John A. Chandler	2:27.50
2001	Falcon Flight	5	Rene Douglas	D. Burke II	Gary A. Tanaka	2:27.86
2000	Williams News	5	Robby Albarado Robby Albarado Robby J. Albarado is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He began riding at the age of 12 at bush tracks in his native Louisiana and after turning professional, earned his first win at Evangeline Downs in 1990...	Tom Amoss	On Target Racing Stable	2:31.22

Selected earlier winners

• 1999 : No race
• 1998 : No race
• 1997 : Lakeshore Road
• 1996 : Vladivostok
• 1995 : Snake Eyes
• 1994 : Marastani
• 1993 : Little Bro Lantis
• 1992 : Plate Dancer
• 1991 : Blair's Cove
• 1990 : Mister Sicy
• 1989 : Salem Drive
• 1988 : No race
• 1987 : Sharood
• 1986 : Explosive Darling
• 1985 : Drumalis
• 1984 : Tough Mickey
• 1983 : Rossi Gold
• 1982 : Rossi Gold
• 1981 : Rossi Gold & Ben Fab (DH
  Tie (draw)
  To tie or draw is to finish a competition with identical or inconclusive results. The word "tie" is usually used in North America for sports such as American football. "Draw" is usually used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Commonwealth of Nations and it is usually used for sports such as...
  
  )
• 1980 : Told
• 1979 : Overskate
  Overskate
  Overskate was a Canadian Thoroughbred Champion Hall of Fame racehorse. Sired by Nodouble out of the dam Overstate who was a descendant of the great sire Princequillo as well as Man o' War, Overskate was foaled at his owner's farm in Port Elgin, Ontario.A small but versatile horse, Overskate raced...
  
  
• 1969 : Hawaii
  Hawaii (horse)
  Hawaii was a South African bred Thoroughbred racehorse who was a Champion at age two and three in South Africa after which he was sent to race in the United States by owner Charles W. Engelhard, Jr. where he was voted the 1969 American Champion Turf Horse honors...
  
  
• 1968 : Fort Marcy
  Fort Marcy (horse)
  Fort Marcy was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. His grandsire was the important Italian horse, Nearco. In 1970 he earned three Champion titles including Co-Horse of the Year honors. He competed for six years until his retirement at the end of the 1971 racing season.Fort Marcy died in 1991 at...
  
  
• 1959 : Round Table
  Round Table (horse)
  Round Table was an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse. He is considered the greatest turf horse in American racing history. He was foaled at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky, on the night of April 6, 1954...
  
  
• 1949 : Coaltown
  Coaltown
  Coaltown was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse of whom the New York Times said "was probably the most underrated Thoroughbred of the 20th Century."...
  
  
• 1948 : Citation
  Citation (horse)
  Citation was the eighth American Triple Crown winner, and one of three major North American Thoroughbreds to win at least 16 consecutive races in major stakes race competition...
  
  
• 1947 : Armed
  Armed
  Armed was an American Thoroughbred gelding race horse. He was sired by the great stakes winner Bull Lea, which made him a half-brother to Citation...
  
  
• 1942 : Take Wing
  Take Wing
  Take Wing was an American Thoroughbred gelding racehorse claimed for $3,000 and who would then earn more than $160,000 for new owner Clyde Troutt and set a new North American record for a mile and three-sixteenths on turf....
  
  
• 1938 : War Admiral
  War Admiral
  War Admiral was an American thoroughbred racehorse, the offspring of the great thoroughbred Man o' War and the mare Brushup. He inherited his father's fiery temperament and talent, but did not resemble him physically...
  
  
• 1935 : Discovery
  Discovery (horse)
  Discovery was an American Thoroughbred racehorse about whom the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame said: "...considered one of the greatest horses of the 20th century."...
  
  
• 1932 : Equipoise
  Equipoise (horse)
  Equipoise was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse, a chestnut bred in the United States by Harry Payne Whitney and owned by his son, Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney...
  
  
• 1930 : Blue Larkspur
  Blue Larkspur
  Blue Larkspur was a bay Kentucky-bred thoroughbred race horse. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1957, awarded the 1929 Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year, and ranks Number 100 in Blood-Horse magazine's top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century...
  
  

External links

• Arlington Park website