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The Arlington Million is a Grade 1 flat horse race in the United States for thoroughbred horses aged three years and upward on turf. It was originally raced at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois over a distance of 1+1⁄4 miles.

The Arlington Million is the first thoroughbred race to offer a purse of US$1,000,000. It is part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series, and the winner automatically qualifies for the Breeders' Cup Turf.

Churchill Downs, whose parent company owned the land of the defunct Arlington Park racetrack, hosted the Arlington Million in 2022. The 2023 race was run at Churchill-owned Colonial Downs in Virginia.

History

The Arlington Million was introduced in 1981 by Joe Joyce, the father of TVG's Mike Joyce and the president of Arlington Park at the time. The winner receives 60% of the million dollar purse and the Arlington Million Trophy. The race was graded after only its second running and was awarded a grade one status in 1983 based on the talent of the runners that raced in its first two years.

The horse John Henry won the race twice. On August 30, 1981, Willie Shoemaker became the first jockey to win a $1 million thoroughbred horse race when John Henry took the inaugural Arlington Million by a nose over The Bart. The track famously ran the Arlington Million in 1985 under the shadow of a burnt-out grandstand, after a fire had occurred there 25 days earlier. In 2007, Jambalaya became the first Canadian bred horse to win the Arlington Million, with his trainer, Catherine Day Phillips, being the first female trainer to ever win the race.

The race has been run under several different names: in 1981, it was called the Arlington Million Invitational Stakes; from 1982 through 1984 it was known as the Budweiser Million Stakes; from 1985 through 1987, it was the Budweiser-Arlington Million. In 1988, the race was held at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario to accommodate the completion of repairs after the 1985 fire, and there was no race held in 1998 or 1999 during a two-year shutdown of Arlington Park. In 2021, the final year of live racing at Arlington, the race was called the Mister D. Stakes (after Richard L. Duchossois) with a purse of $600,000.

The 2022 Arlington Million was run at Churchill Downs. The Louisville racetrack's parent company, Churchill Downs Incorporated (which owns the Arlington Park property), announced that it would relocate the race along with several of Arlington's traditional stakes races. A special one-day Arlington Million racing card was held at Churchill on August 13, 2022. The plans were made possible after Churchill reached an agreement with Ellis Park, which normally controls racing in Kentucky during the summer, along with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and Kentucky horsemen. The move was criticized by the president of a group representing Illinois horsemen. Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association president Chris Block suggested that the relocation of the Arlington Million and other races is another sign that the Arlington Park racetrack was closed for good, adding: "What I want to do now is take a horse down there and win the first Arlington Million at Churchill Downs." Because the Churchill Downs turf course is smaller than the one used at Arlington, the distance of the race was shortened from 1+1⁄4 miles to 1+1⁄8 miles.

In December 2022 an agreement was reached between Churchill Downs and the American Graded Stakes Committee to move the 2023 Arlington Million to Colonial Downs in Virginia. The move allowed the race to return to its original distance of 1+1⁄4 miles.

Several times throughout the race's history, it was nationally televised, usually through a simulcast aired on WGN-TV picked up by their superstation feed, NBCSN, and TVG throughout the years.

Records

Time record:

At 1+1⁄4 miles

• 1:58.19 - Set Piece (2023)

Most wins:

• 2 - John Henry (1981, 1984)

Longest odds:

• 40.60 - Mill Native (1988)

Shortest odds:

• 0.50 - Bricks and Mortar (2019)

Most wins by an owner:

• 3 - Juddmonte Farms (2000, 2002, 2023)

Most wins by a jockey:

• 2 - Laffit Pincay, Jr. (1982, 1991)
• 2 - Cash Asmussen (1988, 1992)
• 2 - José A. Santos (1990, 1993)
• 2 - Gary Stevens (1990, 1997)
• 2 - Jerry D. Bailey (2000, 2002)
• 2 - Ramon A. Dominguez (2009, 2012)
• 2 - Irad Ortiz Jr. (2018, 2019)
• 2 - Florent Geroux (2015, 2023)

Most wins by a trainer:

• 4 - Chad C. Brown (2013, 2017, 2018, 2019)

Largest Margin of Victory:

• 5 Lengths - Estrapade (1986)

Shortest Margin of Victory:

• Nose - John Henry (1981)

Winners of the Arlington Million

References

1. ^ "Arlington Million history at Arlington Park". Archived from the original on 5 December 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
2. Breeders' Cup Challenge Archived 2008-09-13 at the Wayback Machine
3. ^ Placek, Christopher (15 March 2022). "The Arlington Million will live on this year ... at Churchill Downs in Kentucky". Daily Herald. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
4. ^ Finley, Bill (22 December 2022). "It's Official: Arlington Million Moved To Colonial Downs". thoroughbreddailynews.com. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
5. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - August 31, 1981
6. Milwaukee Sentinel - August 27, 1984
7. USA Today - Aug 12, 2007
8. ^ Kieckhefer, Bob; King, Byron (15 March 2022). "Arlington Million Moves This Summer to Churchill Downs". The Blood-Horse. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
9. "2024 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 11)". Equibase. 11 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
10. "2023 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 10)" (PDF). Equibase. 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
11. "2022 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 11)". Equibase. 13 August 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
12. "2021 Mr. D. Stakes Grade 1 - (race 9)". Equibase. 14 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
13. Arlington Set to Start Shortened Season
14. "2019 Arlington Million XXXVII Stakes Grade 1 - (race 11)". Equibase. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
15. "2018 Arlington Million XXXVI Stakes Grade 1 - (race 11)". Equibase. 11 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
16. "2017 Arlington Million XXXV Stakes Grade 1 - (race 11)". Equibase. 12 August 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
17. "2016 Arlington Million XXXIV Stakes Grade 1 - (race 9)". Equibase. 13 August 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
18. "2015 Arlington Million XXXIII Stakes Grade 1 - (race 10)". Equibase. 15 August 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
19. "2014 Arlington Million XXXII Stakes Grade 1 - (race 10)". Equibase. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
20. "2013 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 10)". Equibase. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
21. "2012 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 11)". Equibase. 18 August 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
22. "2011 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 10)". Equibase. 13 August 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
23. "2010 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 10)". Equibase. 21 August 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
24. "2009 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 9)". Equibase. 8 August 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
25. "2008 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 10)". Equibase. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
26. "2007 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 9)". Equibase. 11 August 2007. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
27. "2006 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 9)". Equibase. 12 August 2006. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
28. "2005 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 9)". Equibase. 13 August 2005. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
29. "2004 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 9)". Equibase. 14 August 2004. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
30. "2003 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 10)". Equibase. 16 August 2003. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
31. "2002 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 9)". Equibase. 17 August 2002. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
32. "2001 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 8)". Equibase. 18 August 2001. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
33. "2000 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 9)". Equibase. 19 August 2000. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
34. "1997 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 9)". Equibase. 24 August 1997. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
35. "1996 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 10)". Equibase. 25 August 1996. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
36. "1995 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 8)". Equibase. 27 August 1995. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
37. "1994 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 10)". Equibase. 28 August 1994. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
38. "1993 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 10)". Equibase. 29 August 1993. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
39. "1992 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 10)". Equibase. 6 September 1992. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
40. "1991 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 9)". Equibase. 1 September 1991. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
41. "40-1 Mill Native Takes Arlington Million". washingtonpost.com. 20 August 1988. Retrieved 16 March 2022.

Notes

• In 2015, The Pizza Man became the lone horse bred in Illinois to win the Million.
• No races were held at Arlington International Racecourse in 1998 or 1999, as the Illinois horse racing authorities did not authorise dates for the track.
• Starting in 1991, timing was arranged to hundredths.
• In 2004, Pat Gibson won a million pounds on the UK version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? by correctly answering the Million was not a Triple Crown race in the United States (which were the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes).
• Starting in 2007, the winner of this race will qualify for the Breeders Cup World Thoroughbred Championships in the Turf Division.

External links

• Ten Things you should know about the Arlington Million at Hello Race Fans!

• Open middle distance horse races
• Horse races established in 1981
• Grade 1 turf stakes races in the United States
• Breeders' Cup Challenge series
• Arlington Park
• Turf races in the United States
• Horse races in Illinois
• 1981 establishments in Illinois
• Churchill Downs
• Churchill Downs horse races