Bet on the Stephen Foster Handicap
The Stephen Foster Handicap is a stakes race that takes place at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. This event races thoroughbreds aged three years and older at a distance of 1 1/8 mile on the dirt surface. Named after the famous composer, this race was started in 1982 and tends to end the spring racing season at Churchill Downs. Since its inception, this race has grown from a Grade 3 event in 1988, to a Grade 2 race in 1995, earning its current Grade 1 status in 2002.
Stephen Foster Handicap Racebooks
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Stephen Foster Handicap Race Odds
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2016 Stephen Foster Contenders
The 2016 Stephen Foster features a classy field of seven led by even-money favorite Effinex. The James Jerkens trainee was an easy last-out winner of the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap April 16, avenging his previous loss to Melatonin in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap. Effinex, a five year-old son of Mineshaft, has earned in excess of $2.6 million and notably finished second in last year's Breeders' Cup Classic to American Pharoah. Effinex, ridden by Hall of Fame rider Gary Stevens for the first time, will face a field of competent graded stakes winners, but is clearly the one to beat.
Post Position and Morning Line Odds
1-International Star 6/1
2-Bradester 5/1
3-Effinex 1/1
4-Majestic Harbor 5/1
5-El Kabeir 12/1
6-Are You Kidding Me 10/1
7-Eagle 6/1
Did you know?
As part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series, the winner of the Stephen Foster Handicap earns an automatic berth in the Breeders' Cup Classic, drawing top competitors. A trio of Horse of the Year winners were aided by wins in the Stephen Foster Handicap, adding to the prestige of this race. The fact that this is a Grade 1 event with a $500,000 purse also attracts attention from some of the best stables in the world.
No Kentucky Derby winner has won the Stephen Foster Handicap, underscoring the intense competition of both events. Two horses are repeat winners of the Stephen Foster: Vodka Collins during the first two years of the race in 1982 and 1983 and Recoup the Cash, who did exactly that in 1994 and 1995. The biggest longshot to win this event was Seek Gold at 91-1 in 2006, preventing favorite Perfect Drift, the winner in 2003, from becoming the third horse to repeat. Victory Gallop sped through the 1 1/8 mile dirt course with a record run of 1:47.28 in 1999.