The Pennsylvania Derby is a race for thoroughbred horses run at Parx Racing and Casino (formerly known as Keystone Race Track, then from 1986 through 2010 as Philadelphia Park) each year. The track's premiere event is open to horses, age three, willing to race 1.125 miles (1.811 km) (9 furlongs) on the dirt and as of 2007, offers a purse of $1 million.
The Pennsylvania Derby began on Memorial Day in 1979 and achieved Graded status in 1981. From 1990 until 2009, with the exception of 2006 due to extensive renovations, the race was held on Labor Day; in 2004, it was elevated to a Grade II event. Starting in 2010, the race moved to the last Saturday of September in an attempt to get a stronger field preparing for the Breeders' Cup; the move to late September also made it possible to move away from another premier event, the Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in New York.
Read more about Pennsylvania Derby: Records, Winners of The Pennsylvania Derby Since 1979
Famous quotes containing the word pennsylvania:
“The Republican Party does not perceive how many his failure will make to vote more correctly than they would have them. They have counted the votes of Pennsylvania & Co., but they have not correctly counted Captain Brown’s vote. He has taken the wind out of their sails,—the little wind they had,—and they may as well lie to and repair.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)