American Graded Stakes Committee

Churchill Downs's spring meeting will be headlined by 50 stakes races cumulatively worth a record $27.8-million with 22 of those black-type contests being run Kentucky Derby weekend with purses set at a record $19.1-million, the track announced Monday morning. Set to run Apr. 25 to June 28, the crown jewels of those 44 race dates will naturally be the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks, the latter of which will run under the lights in prime time for the first time on the NBC broadcast. Kentucky Derby Week (Apr....

The American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association presented its listing of U.S. Graded and Listed Stakes Races for calendar year 2026, the results of its annual grading session conducted Dec. 17 and 18. The committee reviewed 942 U.S. stakes races with a purse of at least $75,000, and assigned Graded status to 410 of them, five fewer than were graded in 2025, and Listed status to 211 races. Eleven Graded races were upgraded; one new Grade I and 10 new Grade II races were named;...

The American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association presented its listing of U.S. Graded and Listed Stakes Races for calendar year 2025, the results of its annual grading session conducted Dec. 16 and 17. The committee reviewed 957 U.S. stakes races with a purse of at least $75,000, and assigned graded status to 415 of them, 14 fewer than were graded in 2024, and listed status to 210 races. Four graded races were upgraded; one new Grade I and three new Grade II races were named;...

Stuart S. Janney, III, will step down from his position as chair of The Jockey Club, effective August 2025, the organization announced Tuesday morning. On Janney's recommendation, the board of stewards has chosen Everett Dobson to be his successor. The leadership transition will commence over the coming months, and Janney will remain on the board of stewards through his term, which will end in August 2026. Janney, a prominent Thoroughbred owner and breeder for several decades, was elected vice chair of The Jockey Club in 2010 and became chair in...

The Week In Review by Bill Finley We are in the middle of the Saratoga and Del Mar meets, both of which bring together the best horses the sport has to offer. That was the case last weekend. The quality is there. The quantity? Not so much. There's an alarming trend in racing and it's only getting worse. The 10- or 12-horse field for a stakes race, especially on the dirt, is a thing of the past, no matter the venue, no matter the size of the purse. Even a...

Kentucky Downs will host the first Grade I event in its history next year with the elevation of the GI Franklin-Simpson S. announced Saturday by the American Graded Stakes Committee. "Ownership is laser-focused on the continued elevation of the racing product at their track, and we're appreciative of the recognition by the American Graded Stakes Committee," Ted Nicholson, Kentucky Downs' Vice President for Racing, said in a press release Sunday. "As delighted as we are about finally getting a Grade I stakes, it's more about the ascent of our entire...

The American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association has done it again, announcing Saturday that it has reduced the number of graded stakes races that will be run in the U.S. in 2024, while also downgrading 30 races. To most, this is a welcome development. With the foal crop continually declining, there should be fewer graded stakes races and fewer Grade I's. Many believe that the committee has not gone far enough. Yet, the announcement, as it always seems to do, did not come without a...

The American Graded Stakes Committee has reviewed last weekend's five graded stakes races that were scheduled to run over the turf at the Belmont at the Big A meet and has determined that the original status will not be reinstated this year, the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association said in a series of press releases Thursday. The Oct. 7 and 8 renewal of the GIII Jockey Club Derby Invitational S., the GIII Belmont Turf Sprint S., the GIII Futurity S., the GIII Matron S. and the GIII Noble Damsel S.,...

David O'Farrell has been elected as chairman of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association's Board of Trustees. Also joining O'Farrell on the Board of Trustees to serve three-year terms as new members are Joe Appelbaum, Michael Banahan, Everett Dobson, Mandy Pope and R. Glenn Sikura. Re-elected to three-year terms were current trustees Shannon Arvin, Jeffrey Bloom, Marette Farrell, Brant Laue, Garrett O'Rourke, and Stephen Screnci. "It's an honor and a privilege to lead an organization that deeply cares about the economics and integrity of horse racing on behalf of owners...

The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, which founded and manages the American Graded Stakes Committee, will accept the testing protocols and criteria administered by the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit for graded and listed stakes races conducted in jurisdictions governed by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. HIWU will assign TCO2 and Post-Race testing for these races at quantities and rates specific to each race. Racetracks will not be at risk of losing graded or listed status for their races if the HIWU testing protocols for these races differ from...

The American Graded Stakes Committee policy has reinstated the 2023 renewal of the Duncan F. Kenner S. to listed status. Scheduled for the Fair Grounds turf course Jan. 21, the off-the-turf race, won by Surveillance, was reduced to non-Listed Black-Type status, however, was subsequently determined that the original Listed status would be reinstated.  

The American Graded Stakes Committee released its list of graded stakes for 2023 Friday and it includes five races that were downgraded from Grade I status to Grade II races, including two of NYRA's more prestigious races for older dirt horses, the Woodward and the Cigar Mile H. Also dropping down from the Grade I to the Grade II level were the Clark S. at Churchill Downs, the Starlet S. at Los Alamitos and the Rodeo Drive S. at Santa Anita. The Woodward was, perhaps, the most surprising inclusion on...