The First Lady Stakes is 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...

 run annually at Keeneland Race Course

Keeneland

Keeneland is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and sales complex in Lexington, Kentucky, USA. Operated by the Keeneland Association, Inc., it is also known for its reference library on the sport, which contains more than 10,000 volumes, an extensive videocassette collection, and a substantial...

 in Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...

. A one mile (8 furlongs) race on 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 ...

, it is open to Fillies & Mares, age three and older. Run in mid October, it offers a purse of $400,000.

The race was first run in 1998 as the First Lady Stakes at a distance of 1 3/16 miles. In 2005 it was modified to its present distance of one mile. In 2000, WinStar Farm

WinStar Farm

WinStar Farm is an American Thoroughbred horse breeding and racing farm near Versailles, Kentucky. Formerly known as Prestonwood Farm, it was owned by Houston, Texas oilmen Jack, Art, and J. R...

 became the race's sponsor from then through 2005 and it was renamed the Galaxy Stakes. In 2006, the name reverted back to its inaugural title.

A listed race in its first two years, it earned Grade III status in 2000 from the American Graded Stakes Committee

Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association

The American Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association based in Lexington, Kentucky is a trade organization for Thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeders...

 who sanctioned it as a Grade II race the following year. On November 28, 2007, it was upgraded to a Grade I event.

The First Lady stakes is a steppingstone to the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf

Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf

The Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for fillies and mares, three years old and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships....

. In 2000, Perfect Sting

Perfect Sting

Perfect Sting is an American Thoroughbred Championracehorse and broodmare. Bred by Frank Stronach's Adena Springs Farm and raced by his Stronach Stables, she was sired by Red Ransom and out of the mare Valid Victress....

 ran second in this race but went on to win that year's inaugural edition of the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. In 2005, Intercontinental

Intercontinental (horse)

Intercontinental is a Thoroughbred Champion filly racehorse who competed in England, France, and the United States.Bred and raced by Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms, she was sired by Danehill, a multiple Champion sire in England, Ireland, and France and the most successful sire in the history of...

 won this race and the ensuing Breeders' Cup.

Records

Speed record: (at current distance of 1 mile)

• 1:34.08 - Never Retreat (2011)

Most wins:

• No horse has won this race more than once.

Most wins by an owner:

• No owner has won this race more than once.

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:...

:

• 3 - Julien Leparoux
  Julien Leparoux
  Julien R. Leparoux is a Champion jockey currently racing in the United States.Leparoux, grew up in a racing family, the son of a jockey turned assistant trainer. He worked at the Chantilly Racecourse as a stable hand and in January 2003 emigrated to California to work as an exercise rider for...
  
   (2006, 2008, 2011)

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 - Robert J. Frankel (1999, 2005)

Winners of the First Lady Stakes

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
2011	Never Retreat	6	Julien Leparoux Julien Leparoux Julien R. Leparoux is a Champion jockey currently racing in the United States.Leparoux, grew up in a racing family, the son of a jockey turned assistant trainer. He worked at the Chantilly Racecourse as a stable hand and in January 2003 emigrated to California to work as an exercise rider for...	Chris Block	Team Block	1:34.08 (stakes record)
2010	Proviso	5	Mike E. Smith	Bill Mott Bill Mott William I. "Bill" Mott is an American horse trainer, most notable for his work with Cigar. Mott earned the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer in 1995 and 1996. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1998 at the age of 45, becoming the second-youngest trainer ever...	Juddmonte Farms Juddmonte Farms Juddmonte Farms is a famous and award-winning horse breeding farm, owned by Prince Khalid Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. A member of the Saudi Arabian royal family the successful businessman presides over the massive conglomerate Mawared...	1:34.81
2009	Diamondrella	5	Rajiv Maragh Rajiv Maragh Rajiv Maragh is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. An Indo-Jamaican, he is the son of a jockey who rode in Jamaica before relocating to Florida where he began a career as a horse trainer....	Angel Penna Jr.	IEAH Stables IEAH Stables IEAH Stables operates a thoroughbred horse racing stable in the United States. It is based in Garden City, New York.IEAH was formed in 2003 by Michael Iavarone, Michael Sherack and Richard Schiavo. Current IEAH employees include Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens as a bloodstock agent and Mike...	1:38.66
2008	Forever Together Forever Together (horse) Forever Together is an American Thoroughbred Champion filly racehorse. Bred by the White Fox Farm of Karen and Dewey White , she was purchased and raced by George W. Strawbridge, Jr.'s Augustin Stable....	4	Julien Leparoux Julien Leparoux Julien R. Leparoux is a Champion jockey currently racing in the United States.Leparoux, grew up in a racing family, the son of a jockey turned assistant trainer. He worked at the Chantilly Racecourse as a stable hand and in January 2003 emigrated to California to work as an exercise rider for...	Jonathan E. Sheppard Jonathan E. Sheppard Jonathan E. Sheppard is a Hall of Fame trainer in American Thoroughbred horse racing....	Augustin Stable	1:35.00
2007	Vacare	4	Corey Nakatani Corey Nakatani Corey S. Nakatani is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He got his big break in 1990 when he rode Itsallgreektome to win big stakes races.Nakatani currently resides at Belmont Park...	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...	Sarah & Jon Kelly	1:35.85
2006	Gorella	4	Julien Leparoux Julien Leparoux Julien R. Leparoux is a Champion jockey currently racing in the United States.Leparoux, grew up in a racing family, the son of a jockey turned assistant trainer. He worked at the Chantilly Racecourse as a stable hand and in January 2003 emigrated to California to work as an exercise rider for...	Patrick Biancone Patrick Biancone Patrick Louis Biancone is a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. He is currently based in the United States, but enjoyed success in both Europe and Hong Kong earlier in his career...	Martin S. Schwartz	1:34.14
2005	Intercontinental Intercontinental (horse) Intercontinental is a Thoroughbred Champion filly racehorse who competed in England, France, and the United States.Bred and raced by Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms, she was sired by Danehill, a multiple Champion sire in England, Ireland, and France and the most successful sire in the history of...	5	Jerry Bailey	Robert J. Frankel	Juddmonte Farms Juddmonte Farms Juddmonte Farms is a famous and award-winning horse breeding farm, owned by Prince Khalid Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. A member of the Saudi Arabian royal family the successful businessman presides over the massive conglomerate Mawared...	1:37.40
2004	Stay Forever	7	Eddie Castro Eddie Castro Eddie Castro is a Panamanian-born jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. He grew up on a produce farm in Panama where he learned to ride saddle horses. Influenced by the accomplishments of other local jockeys, Castro attended the Panamanian jockey school and began riding in races in...	Martin D. Wolfson Martin D. Wolfson Martin "Marty" D. Wolfson is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. He embarked on a professional training career in the early 1970s. He is the son of Louis Wolfson, owner of Florida's Harbor View Farm who won the U.S...	Santa Cruz Ranch, Inc.	1:57.08
2003	Bien Nicole	5	Donald Pettinger Donald R. Pettinger Donald R. Pettinger Donald R. Pettinger Donald R. Pettinger (born December 21, 1961 in Holly, Colorado is an American jockey in Thoroughbred flat horse racing.He is the winner of a number of stakes races, including the 1989 Arlington Classic at Chicago's Arlington Park and the 2002 Valley View...	Donnie K. Von Hemel	Kristine & John Richter	1:55.87
2002	Owsley	4	Edgar Prado	Randy Schulhofer	Arthur B. Hancock III Arthur B. Hancock III Arthur Boyd Hancock III is an American owner of Thoroughbred racehorses, the owner of Stone Farm, a 2,000 acre horse breeding operation in Paris, Kentucky, and a composer of Bluegrass music....	1:56.72
2001	Spook Express	7	Mike E. Smith	Thomas J. Skiffington	Robert & Janice Aron	1:54.24
2000	Tout Charmant	4	Chris McCarron Chris McCarron Christopher John "Chris" McCarron is a retired American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey. He is currently working as a racing analyst for TVG Network....	Ronald McAnally	Stonerside Stable Stonerside Stable Stonerside Stable is an American Thoroughbred horse breeding farm and horse racing operation in Paris, Kentucky. Until September 2008 it was owned by Robert and Janice McNair, who also own the National Football League team, the Houston Texans...	1:54.60
1999	Happyanunoit	4	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...	Robert J. Frankel	Amerman Racing Stables	1:53.80
1998	Witchful Thinking	4	Chris McCarron Chris McCarron Christopher John "Chris" McCarron is a retired American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey. He is currently working as a racing analyst for TVG Network....	Niall M. O'Callaghan Niall M. O'Callaghan Niall M. O'Callaghan is an American Thoroughbred horse trainer.O'Callaghan became involved in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing as an apprentice jockey in his native Ireland. In 1982 he emigrated to the United States where he studied at Miami Dade Community College in Florida. In 1988, he...	Leslie R. Grimm	1:54.20