The Vigil Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. Run in mid May, the Grade III sprint race is open to horses aged four and older. Raced over a distance of 1⅛ miles on Polytrack synthetic dirt, it currently offers a purse of $150,000.
Inaugurated as the Vigil Handicap, it was first run in 1956 at Fort Erie Racetrack where it remained until 1980. Since inception it has been contested at various distances:
- 5.5 furlongs :1956-1958
- 6 furlongs : 1959
- 6.5 furlongs : 1960
- 1 1/16 miles (8.5 furlongs) : 1961-1979
- 7 furlongs : 1980–present
Famous quotes containing the words vigil and/or stakes:
“He that shall see this day and live old age
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbors
And say, “Tomorrow is Saint Crispian.””
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Law makes long spokes of the short stakes of men.”
—William Empson (1906–1984)