The Stepping Stone Purse was an American Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...

 held annually in the latter part of April at Churchill Downs

Churchill Downs

Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...

 in Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

. Open to thre-year-old horses, it was, along with the Derby Trial Stakes, one of two final prep races hosted by Churchill Downs running up to the Kentucky Derby

Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...

.

In 1959, Sword Dancer won the Stepping Stone Purse then ran second in the Kentucky Derby before winning the Belmont Stakes

Belmont Stakes

The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...

. The following year, Bally Ache

Bally Ache

Bally Ache was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won one of the American Classics in 1960 but died shortly afterwards. In her book American Classic Pedigrees , author Avalyn Hunter wrote that Bally Ache was "a crowd favorite" who "won hearts by his sheer determination."Bally Ache was bred by...

 won this race then ran second in the Derby but won the Preakness Stakes

Preakness Stakes

The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...

. In 1969, future U.S. Racing 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...

 inductee Majestic Prince

Majestic Prince

Majestic Prince was a Thoroughbred racehorse purchased by Calgary, Alberta oilman Frank McMahon at the Keeneland yearling sale in September 1967 for a then record price of $250,000...

 won this race by six lengths while setting a new stakes record and then won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. In 1974, Cannonade

Cannonade

For the cannon see CarronadeCannonade was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the winner of the 1974 Kentucky Derby. Owned and bred by prominent businessman John M. Olin, Cannonade was foaled at Gainesway Farm in Lexington, Kentucky...

 too won the Stepping Stone Purse and the Kentucky Derby and 1965 winner Tom Rolfe

Tom Rolfe

The racehorse Tom Rolfe was one of the best American sons of the great racehorse and sire Ribot. His dam was Pocahontas, from whom he takes his name...

 went on to finish third in the Derby but then won the Preakness Stakes.

Records

Speed record:

• 1:21.60 - Majestic Prince
  Majestic Prince
  Majestic Prince was a Thoroughbred racehorse purchased by Calgary, Alberta oilman Frank McMahon at the Keeneland yearling sale in September 1967 for a then record price of $250,000...
  
   (1969) (at 7 furlongs)
• 1:37.40 - Nostalgia (1977) (at 8 furlongs)

Most wins by a jockey

Jockey

A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...

:

• 2 - Bill Shoemaker (1959, 1966)
• 2 - Ismael Valenzuela
  Ismael Valenzuela
  Ismael "Milo" Valenzuela was a Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey. He was one of 22 children born to parents who had immigrated to the United states. Shortly after Ismael Valenzuela's birth, the family returned to their native Mexico...
  
   (1962, 1964)
• 2 - Manuel Ycaza
  Manuel Ycaza
  Manuel Ycaza is a retired United States Racing Hall of Fame jockey who led the way for Latin American jockeys in the United States....
  
   (1963, 1968)

Most wins by a trainer

Horse trainer

In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...

:

• 2 - Woody Stephens
  Woody Stephens
  Woody Stephens was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame trainer.Born Woodford Cefis Stephens in Stanton, Kentucky, his younger brother William Ward Stephens also became a successful trainer. Woody Stephens first started in racing as a jockey at age 16 but within a few years switched...
  
   (1963, 1974)

Most wins by an owner:

• 2 - Cain Hoy Stable
  Cain Hoy Stable
  Cain Hoy Stable was a Thoroughbred racing stable and horse breeding operation with training facilities in Columbia, South Carolina and Kissimmee, Florida. It was owned by Harry Guggenheim who also raced horses in Europe...
  
   (1963, 1968)

Winners

Year	Winner	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
1981	Mythical Ruler	Kevin Wirth	Fred Wirth	Al Risen Jr. & Paxton Price	1:37.80
1980	Jaklin Klugman Jaklin Klugman Jaklin Klugman was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was owned and bred in California by John Dominguez and actor Jack Klugman. He showed promise as a two-year-old, winning the California Breeders' Champion Stakes...	Darrel McHargue Darrel McHargue Darrel G. McHargue is a retired American Champion jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. One of five children from a family not connected to horse racing, he was first introduced to riding as a teeneage boy when he rode a neighbor's Quarter Horse...	Riley S. Cofer	Jack Klugman Jack Klugman Jacob Joachim "Jack" Klugman is an American stage, film and television actor known for his roles in sitcoms, movies, and television and on Broadway...  & John Dominguez	1:38.60
1979	King Celebrity	Don Brumfield Don Brumfield Donald Alan Brumfield is a retired American jockey from Kentucky.During his thirty-five year career, Brumfield won 4,573 races in 33,222 rides. He retired from racing in 1989. Brumfield was the "track all-time leading rider in terms of races won " at Churchill Downs, where he won 16 riding titles...	Robert J. Taylor	Che-Bar Stable	1:37.80
1978	Batonnier	Ronald Hardes	Harry Trotsek	Edward Seltzer	1:37.60
1977	Nostalgia	Larry Snyder Larry Snyder Larry Lloyd Snyder is a retired American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey whose career spanned thirty-five years from 1960 to 1994. In the early 1960s he began competing at Oaklawn Park Race Track in Hot Springs, Arkansas where he would win eight riding titles...	Del W. Carroll Del W. Carroll Delmer W. "Del" Carroll was an American champion polo player, Thoroughbred racehorse owner/trainer, and soldier during World War II.-Biography:...	William S. Farish III	1:37.40
1976	Amano	Larry Melancon Larry Melancon Larry J. Melancon is an American jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing who rides primarily on the Kentucky-Arkansas circuit....	James A. Padgett	James C. Irvin	1:24.80
1975	Greek Answer	Mickey Solomone	Frank H. Merrill, Jr.	W. Preston Gilbride	1:25.00
1974	Cannonade Cannonade For the cannon see CarronadeCannonade was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the winner of the 1974 Kentucky Derby. Owned and bred by prominent businessman John M. Olin, Cannonade was foaled at Gainesway Farm in Lexington, Kentucky...	Angel Cordero, Jr.	Woody Stephens Woody Stephens Woody Stephens was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame trainer.Born Woodford Cefis Stephens in Stanton, Kentucky, his younger brother William Ward Stephens also became a successful trainer. Woody Stephens first started in racing as a jockey at age 16 but within a few years switched...	John M. Olin John M. Olin John Merrill Olin was an American businessman. He was the son of Franklin W. Olin.-Early life:Born in Alton, Illinois, Olin graduated from Cornell University with a B.Sc. degree in chemistry and as a brother of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity...	1:23.80
1973	Shecky Greene	Walter Blum Walter Blum Walter "Mousey" Blum is a retired Hall of Fame jockey.A horse racing fan from boyhood, in his teens Blum began working as a racetrack hotwalker. Despite being blind in his right eye from the age of two, in 1953 he embarked on a career as a jockey, riding his first winner on July 29 at Saratoga...	Lou M. Goldfine	Joseph Kellman Joseph Kellman Joseph "Joe" Kellman was an American businessman and philanthropist. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he grew up in the Lawndale neighborhood. Together with his brother, Kellman inherited their father's glass business. Eventually, the brothers parted ways and the company was split into manufacturing...	1:23.00
1972	Hold Your Peace	Carlos Marquez	Arnold N. Winick	Maribel Blum	1:24.00
1971	Bold And Able	Howard Grant Howard Grant (jockey) Howard Grant is a retired American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He began his jockey apprenticeship as a seventeen-year-old at Wheeling Downs, West Virginia and won his first race on October 9, 1956 at Cranwood Park Race Course in Cleveland, Ohio...	Reggie Cornell Reggie Cornell Reginald "Reggie" Cornell was a Thoroughbred horse racing trainer who competed in his native Canada before working for many years in the United States....	Calumet Farm Calumet Farm Calumet Farm is a Thoroughbred breeding and training farm established in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. Calumet is located in the heart of Lexington's blue grass country, the finest horse breeding region in...	1:22.60
1970	My Dad George	Ray Broussard Ray Broussard Raywood J. Broussard was an American jockey in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing."Ray" Broussard was born in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, home to a large number of persons of Acadian ancestry and an area that would produce a number of other Cajun jockeys including Eddie Delahoussaye, Randy...	Frank J. McManus	Raymond M. Curtis	1:23.60
1969	Majestic Prince Majestic Prince Majestic Prince was a Thoroughbred racehorse purchased by Calgary, Alberta oilman Frank McMahon at the Keeneland yearling sale in September 1967 for a then record price of $250,000...	Bill Hartack Bill Hartack William John Hartack Jr. was a Hall of Fame jockey. He was born in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania.Referred to by the media as both "Bill" and "Willie" during his racing career, Hartack grew up on his widowed father's farm in the Blacklick...	Johnny Longden Johnny Longden John Eric Longden was an American Hall of Fame jockey. He was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England but his father wanted to build a better life for his family so in 1909 emigrated to Canada, settling in Taber, Alberta. By 1912 Longden Sr. had saved enough money to send for his wife and young son...	Frank M. McMahon Frank M. McMahon Frank Murray Patrick McMahon was a Canadian businessman best known as the founder and first chairman of Westcoast Transmission Co. Ltd...	1:21.60
1968	Captain's Gig Captain's Gig (horse) Captain's Gig was an American Thoroughbred racehorse bred and raced by Harry Guggenheim's Cain Hoy Stable. Sired by Turn-To, his dam was Guggenheim's good runner Make Sail who in 1960 won the Kentucky Oaks and Alabama Stakes...	Manuel Ycaza Manuel Ycaza Manuel Ycaza is a retired United States Racing Hall of Fame jockey who led the way for Latin American jockeys in the United States....	William W. Stephens	Cain Hoy Stable Cain Hoy Stable Cain Hoy Stable was a Thoroughbred racing stable and horse breeding operation with training facilities in Columbia, South Carolina and Kissimmee, Florida. It was owned by Harry Guggenheim who also raced horses in Europe...	1:22.60
1967	Ruken Ruken Ruken was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who competed at the highest levels in California and was the bettors third choice to win the 1967 Kentucky Derby. Bred and raced by Louis R. Rowan, Ruken was sired by Nasrullah's son Nashville who won the 1957 Lakes And Flowers and Palos Verdes Handicaps...	Fernando Alvarez Fernando Alvarez Fernando Enrique Alvarez is an Argentine macroeconomist. He is a professor of economics at the University of Chicago. He received his B.A. in Economics at Universidad Nacional de La Plata in 1989 and his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1994...	Clyde Turk Clyde Turk Clyde Turk was an American jockey and trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses. He began riding horses in the 1920s and in 1929 was riding at the new Agua Caliente Racetrack in Tijuana, Mexico...	Louis R. Rowan Louis R. Rowan Louis R. Rowan was an American businessman and Thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder.A native of California, Rowan was educated in England. In 1968, along with Clement L. Hirsch and Dr. Jack Robbins, he co-founded the Oak Tree Racing Association at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California...	1:23.20
1966	Old Bag	Bill Shoemaker	Stanley M. Reiser	P. & R. Schleicher & S. M. Reiser	1:25.20
1965	Tom Rolfe Tom Rolfe The racehorse Tom Rolfe was one of the best American sons of the great racehorse and sire Ribot. His dam was Pocahontas, from whom he takes his name...	Ron Turcotte Ron Turcotte Ron Joseph Morel Turcotte, CM is a Hall of Fame thoroughbred race horse jockey best known as the rider of Secretariat, winner of the U.S. Triple Crown in 1973....	Frank Y. Whiteley, Jr. Frank Y. Whiteley, Jr. Frank Yewell Whiteley, Jr. was a Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse trainer.Born and raised on a farm in Centreville, Maryland, Whiteley grew up around horses and from a very early age was intent on racing them. Developing his skills, by age twenty-one he had embarked on a professional training...	Powhatan Stable Raymond R. Guest Commander Raymond Richard Guest OBE Commander Raymond Richard Guest OBE Commander Raymond Richard Guest OBE (November 25, 1907 – December 31, 1991 was an American businessman, thoroughbred race horse owner and polo player. He was United States Ambassador to Ireland.-Biography:...	1:22.80
1964	Mr. Brick	Ismael Valenzuela Ismael Valenzuela Ismael "Milo" Valenzuela was a Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey. He was one of 22 children born to parents who had immigrated to the United states. Shortly after Ismael Valenzuela's birth, the family returned to their native Mexico...	James E. Picou	Roy Sturgis	1:22.80
1963	Never Bend Never Bend Never Bend was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse and a leading sire in England.-Two-Year-Old Champion:Foaled at Claiborne Farm for owner/breeder Harry F. Guggenheim, Never Bend was the dominant two-year-old racing in the United States in 1962...	Manuel Ycaza Manuel Ycaza Manuel Ycaza is a retired United States Racing Hall of Fame jockey who led the way for Latin American jockeys in the United States....	Woody Stephens Woody Stephens Woody Stephens was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame trainer.Born Woodford Cefis Stephens in Stanton, Kentucky, his younger brother William Ward Stephens also became a successful trainer. Woody Stephens first started in racing as a jockey at age 16 but within a few years switched...	Cain Hoy Stable Cain Hoy Stable Cain Hoy Stable was a Thoroughbred racing stable and horse breeding operation with training facilities in Columbia, South Carolina and Kissimmee, Florida. It was owned by Harry Guggenheim who also raced horses in Europe...	1:22.40
1962	Sir Gaylord Sir Gaylord Sir Gaylord was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who later became a successful sire.-Background:He was bred and raced by Christopher Chenery...	Ismael Valenzuela Ismael Valenzuela Ismael "Milo" Valenzuela was a Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey. He was one of 22 children born to parents who had immigrated to the United states. Shortly after Ismael Valenzuela's birth, the family returned to their native Mexico...	Casey Hayes	Christopher Chenery Christopher Chenery Christopher Tompkins Chenery was an American engineer, businessman, and owner/breeder of Thoroughbred horse racing's U.S. Triple Crown champion Secretariat....	1:22.40
1961	Light Talk	Robert Nono	Steve Ippolito	Jacnot Stable	1:23.40
1960	Bally Ache Bally Ache Bally Ache was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won one of the American Classics in 1960 but died shortly afterwards. In her book American Classic Pedigrees , author Avalyn Hunter wrote that Bally Ache was "a crowd favorite" who "won hearts by his sheer determination."Bally Ache was bred by...	Bobby Ussery Bobby Ussery Robert Nelson "Bobby" Ussery is a retired American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey. His first race as a professional jockey came at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans on November 22, 1951 where he rode Reticule to victory in the Thanksgiving Handicap. By the end of the decade...	Homer Pitt	Edgehill Farm	1:22.60
1959	Sword Dancer	Bill Shoemaker	J. Elliott Burch J. Elliott Burch John Elliott Burch was an American National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Four of his horses were inducted in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.-Biography:...	Brookmeade Stable Brookmeade Stable Brookmeade Stable was a successful thoroughbred horse racing stable owned by heiress and socialite Isabel Dodge Sloane. Sloane first won using the name Brookmeade Stable at the Manly Memorial Steeplechase at Pimlico in 1924....	1:22.20
1958	Belleau Chief	Johnny Heckmann	E. B. Carpenter	Lora Birr	1:22.80