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)
“This man was very clever and quick to learn anything in his line. Our tent was of a kind new to him; but when he had once seen it pitched, it was surprising how quickly he would find and prepare the pole and forked stakes to pitch it with, cutting and placing them right the first time, though I am sure that the majority of white men would have blundered several times.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)