Major Stake Races Featured in the Game

Throughout the year, there are major horse racing events that take place at a variety of racetracks. These horse racing events help set the stage for the recognition of the best race horses by class and category. The competition is always tough and the landscape of who the top horses are is constantly changing. In our free horse game, you will experience some of the most exciting aspects of horse racing. You will be able to virtually participate and simulate some of the most recognized horse racing events in the world as either a jockey, a trainer or a top handicapper.

You will be able to simulate by yourself or or with friends and family - or really challenge your skills by competing with other game players - the most prestigious events in horse racing. Our virtual horse game will truly help you identify what skills you have as a jockey, trainer or bettor and in what areas you need improvement. This free horse racing game will really show you what it's like to participate in some of the biggest horse racing events throughout the world. Below is just a small list of some 450 major horse racing events that are simulated in our 3D horse racing game. Imagine being the jockey or trainer in The Kentucky Derby, The Preakness, The Belmont Stakes or many other major horse race events. Our free virtual game will allow you to experience what it's like to be the very best in this fast-paced, thrilling, full-of-action sport.

1. San Antonio Handicap - Run at Santa Anita since the mid 1950s, this Grade II race is for thoroughbreds age three and older. Distance is a mile and an 8th on the Polytrack surface.

2. Pacific Classic - Since 1993 this has been a Grade I event is far and away the most prestigious race held at Del Mar Racetrack. The purse for this race is $1 million and features an automatic spot in the Breeders' Cup Classic for the winner. Open for thoroughbreds aged 3 and older.

3. Kentucky Derby - Held at Churchill Downs annually on the first Saturday in May, this 3 year old race is the marquee event in all of thoroughbred racing. This mile and a quarter race is the first leg of the Triple Crown, which consists of the Kentucky Derby, The Preakness Stakes, and The Belmont Stakes. The distance of this race is almost always the farthest a thoroughbred has run up to that point, and the field by far the largest they will ever compete against.

4. The Preakness - Held two weeks following the Kentucky Derby at Pimlico Racetrack, this race is the 2nd leg of the Triple Crown. Horses run a mile and 3/16th's, and high drama usually accompanies the Preakness because of the possibility of a Triple Crown if the Kentucky Derby winner prevails.

5. Belmont Stakes - Run three weeks after the Preakness, The Belmont Stakes is the final, and toughest, leg of the Triple Crown. Run at a mile and a half, this race is the last remaining Grade I stakes race at that distance run in North America. In today's racing climate, the Kentucky Derby and the Breeders' Cup Classic are annually the biggest races, but a Belmont with a Triple Crown at stake is bigger than any other event in racing.

6. Gulfstream Park Handicap - A Grade 2 race held in early March with a $350,000 purse, this race is open to horses 4 and older and run at a distance of a mile and 3/16th's.

7. Santa Anita Handicap - Known as "The Big Cap" because when first run in the mid-1930s it's $100,000 purse was the largest ever offered, this mile and a quarter race is run in March and is open to thoroughbreds age 4 and older. Seabiscuit returned from injury in 1940 to win this race after being denied two previous times.

8. Santa Anita Derby - A Grade 1 thoroughbred race held annually in early April, this race is open to three year olds only and is the biggest west coast Kentucky Derby prep race. Run at a mile and an 8th, six winners of this race have subsequently won the Kentucky Derby.

9. Swale Stakes - Named after Seattle Slew's fantastic son, this 6.5 furlong dirt race was run at 7 furlongs when first run in 1985 following Swale's fatal heart attack after winning the 1984 Belmont and changed to the current distance in 2007.

10. Louisiana Derby - Open to thoroughbred horses aged 3, this race is currently run at 1&1/16th's miles, though before 1989 it was run at a mile and an 8th. 1988 winner Risen Star went on to win the Preakness and Belmont.

11. Apple Blossom Handicap - Run at Oaklawn Park, this Grade 1 horse race is open to fillies 4 and older. Run at a mile and a 16th, this race has been run since 1958. Azeri won this race three straight time from 2002-04.

12. Breeders' Cup Classic - Next to the Kentucky Derby, this race is the biggest race of them all. Run since 1984 at a mile and a quarter, this race is for 3 year olds and older, and is by invitation only. Run in October at the Breeders' Cup host site, most Grade 1 races run earlier in the year feature spots in this race for the winner.

13. Bold Ruler Handicap - Named after the sire of Secretariat, this 6 furlong race is run in mid-May at Belmont.

14. Kentucky Oaks - This race, held at Churchill Downs the day before the Kentucky Derby, is a mile and an 8th on dirt. Open only to 3 year old fillies, this Grade 1 race features a $500,000 purse.

15. Pimlico Special - A Grade 1 race for horses 3 and older, though generally speaking 4 year olds and up run in this race. The very first Pimlico Special was run in 1937 and was won by War Admiral, and the 2nd was the famous match race between War Admiral and Seabiscuit in 1938. Run at a mile and 3/16ths, this race was discontinued after 1958 but revived in 1988. It was not run in 2007, with the half-million dollar purse spread out among other Maryland races.

16. Peter Pan Stakes - A mile and an 8th race held at Belmont. A Grade 2 race open to 3 year olds, a $200,000 purse is highlighted. Named after 1907 champion three year old male.

17. Acorn Stakes - Mile long Grade 1 horse race held at Belmont. Open only for 3 year old fillies, the purse for this race is $250,000. Twice there have been dead heats, in 1954 and 1956.

18. Brooklyn Handicap - Open to three year olds and up, this Grade 2 race has been run at a mile and an 8th at Belmont. Starting in 2008 it will be held the day prior to the Belmont Stakes, and the distance will be increased to a mile and a half. Forego won this race three consecutive times in the mid 1970s.

19. Affirmed Handicap - Grade 3 race run at Hollywood Park, this event is for 3 year old horses only. Raced at a mile and a 16th, this race features a purse of $106,000.

20. Mother Goose Stakes - First run in 1957, this mile and an 8th race is 3 year old fillies. Run at Belmont, this race is the first leg of the female Triple Crown, known as the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing, which consists of the Mother Goose Stakes, the Coaching Club American Oaks, and the Alabama Stakes. Ruffian dominated this race in 1975.

21. The Haskell Invitational - Open only to 3 year olds, this race was first run in 1968 and is held at Monmouth Park. Run at a mile and an 8th, this event boasts a purse of $1 million.

22. The Travers - The oldest thoroughbred race in the U.S., this race is open only to 3 year old horses. Run at a mile and a quarter, host Saratoga offers a $1 million purse. Secretariat's son General Assembly set the stakes record of 2:00 flat in 1979. One of the greatest upsets in racing history took place in the 1930 Travers, when 100-1 long-shot Jim Dandy defeated Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox, and the 1962 running is still talked about today, when Jaipur defeated Ridan by a nose. The Travers is rich in racing history and tradition.

23. Ruffian Handicap - First run in 1976 and named in honor of the fallen filly champion, this Grade 1 race is for fillies and mares 3 and up. Held at Belmont in early September, this race is run at a mile and a 16th while featuring a $300,000 purse. 1986 Horse of the Year Lady's Secret won this race in consecutive years (1985-86), the only horse to do so.

24. Dubai World Cup - The richest horse race, thoroughbred or otherwise, in the world. First run in 1996 and held at the Nad Al Sheba Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, since 2004 this race features a $6 million purse and is open to horses 4 and up. Hall-of-Famer Cigar won the inaugural event.

25. Man o'War Stakes - Held at Belmont Park since 1959, this Grade 1 turf race for horses 3 and up has been run at a distance of a mile and 3/8th's since 1978, but was also run at 1.5 and a mile and 5/8th's previously. With a current purse of $500,000, this race attracts the best turf horses in the world and is a prep for the Breeders' Cup Turf. Secretariat won this race in 1973.

26. Cigar Mile - Run in late November, this Grade 1 race is run at Aqueduct. Open to horses 3 and up, this event was known as the NYRA Mile until 1997 after Hall-of-Famer Cigar, who won the race in 1994, retired.

27. Hollywood Turf Cup - First run in 2000, this thoroughbred horse race is actually run after the Breeders' Cup. Open to horses 3 and up and run at a mile and a half, the great gelding John Henry won this race in 1983.

28. Yellow Ribbon Stakes - Held at Santa Anita in late September/early October, this mile and a quarter turf race is open to fillies and mares 3 and up. First run in 1977, it is now considered a major Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf prep race.

29. Del Mar Oaks - Grade 1 turf race for thoroughbred 3 year old fillies. First run in 1991, this race covers a distance of a mile and an 8th.

30. Eddie Read Handicap - Open to thoroughbred horses 3 and up, this mile and an 8th horse race is held at Del Mar Racetrack and is run on the turf. A major prep race for the Breeders' Cup Turf.

31. United Nations Stakes - Mile and 3/8th's race held at Monmouth Park in July. Run over the turf, this race features a purse of $750,000 to the winning horse and was known until 2007 as the United Nations Handicap.

32. Hollywood Gold Cup - Grade 1 thoroughbred race first run in 1938. Run at the classic distance of a mile and a quarter. Open to horses 3 and up, it's chief attraction is the $750,000 purse. Seabiscuit won the first running.

33. Swaps Stakes - Grade 2 event run at Hollywood Park, this thoroughbred race is run over a distance of a mile and an eighth. Open to 3 year old horses, this race was first run in 1964.

34. Metropolitan Handicap - Known as the Met Mile, this Grade 1 thoroughbred race is open to horses 3 and up. The first leg of the so-called Handicap Triple Crown, followed by the Suburban and Brooklyn Handicaps. Inaugurated in 1940 and run at Belmont Park.

35. Carter Handicap - Held at Aqueduct, this race is open to horses 3 and up. Covering 7 furlongs, this Grade 1 race has been run since 1895.

36. Florida Derby - Major Kentucky Derby prep race held in late March, this Grade 1 race covers a mile and an 8th and features a $1 million purse. Gulfstream Park hosts the event.

37. Jockey Club Gold Cup - Run since 1919 at Belmont Park, this race has been run at a mile and a quarter since 1990, though it has also been run at a mile and a half and 2 miles previously. Some of the greatest horses in history have won this race, including Kelso, Buckpasser, Damascus, Art and Letters, Forego, and Affirmed. In 1978 Exceller became the first and only thoroughbred to defeat 2 Triple Crown winners in the same race, beating Affirmed and Seattle Slew.

 

For a full list of all the stake races, please click here.