Arlington Million

The Arlington Million is a Grade 1 flat horse race in the United States for thoroughbred horses aged three years and upward on turf. It was originally raced at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois over a distance of 1+1⁄4 miles.^[1]

Arlington Million

Grade 1 race
Location	Colonial Downs New Kent County, Virginia
Inaugurated	1981 at Arlington Park
Race type	Thoroughbred
Website	Colonial Downs
Race information
Distance	1+1⁄4 miles
Surface	Turf
Track	Left-handed
Qualification	3-year-olds & Up, Thoroughbreds
Weight	Weight for age
Purse	$1,000,000

The Arlington Million is the first thoroughbred race to offer a purse of US$1,000,000. It is part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series, and the winner automatically qualifies for the Breeders' Cup Turf.^[2]

Churchill Downs, whose parent company owned the land of the defunct Arlington Park racetrack, hosted the Arlington Million in 2022.^[3] The 2023 race was run at Churchill-owned Colonial Downs in Virginia.^[4]

History

The Arlington Million was introduced in 1981 by Joe Joyce, the father of TVG's Mike Joyce and the president of Arlington Park at the time. The winner receives 60% of the million dollar purse and the Arlington Million Trophy. The race was graded after only its second running and was awarded a grade one status in 1983 based on the talent of the runners that raced in its first two years.^[1]

The horse John Henry won the race twice.^[5][6] On August 30, 1981, Willie Shoemaker became the first jockey to win a $1 million thoroughbred horse race when John Henry took the inaugural Arlington Million by a nose over The Bart. The track famously ran the Arlington Million in 1985 under the shadow of a burnt-out grandstand, after a fire had occurred there 25 days earlier. In 2007, Jambalaya became the first Canadian bred horse to win the Arlington Million, with his trainer, Catherine Day Phillips, being the first female trainer to ever win the race.^[7]

The race has been run under several different names: in 1981, it was called the Arlington Million Invitational Stakes; from 1982 through 1984 it was known as the Budweiser Million Stakes; from 1985 through 1987, it was the Budweiser-Arlington Million. In 1988, the race was held at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario to accommodate the completion of repairs after the 1985 fire, and there was no race held in 1998 or 1999 during a two-year shutdown of Arlington Park.^[1] In 2021, the final year of live racing at Arlington, the race was called the Mister D. Stakes (after Richard L. Duchossois) with a purse of $600,000.

The 2022 Arlington Million was run at Churchill Downs. The Louisville racetrack's parent company, Churchill Downs Incorporated (which owns the Arlington Park property), announced that it would relocate the race along with several of Arlington's traditional stakes races.^[3] A special one-day Arlington Million racing card was held at Churchill on August 13, 2022. The plans were made possible after Churchill reached an agreement with Ellis Park, which normally controls racing in Kentucky during the summer, along with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and Kentucky horsemen.^[3] The move was criticized by the president of a group representing Illinois horsemen. Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association president Chris Block suggested that the relocation of the Arlington Million and other races is another sign that the Arlington Park racetrack was closed for good, adding: "What I want to do now is take a horse down there and win the first Arlington Million at Churchill Downs."^[8] Because the Churchill Downs turf course is smaller than the one used at Arlington, the distance of the race was shortened from 1+1⁄4 miles to 1+1⁄8 miles.^[8]

In December 2022 an agreement was reached between Churchill Downs and the American Graded Stakes Committee to move the 2023 Arlington Million to Colonial Downs in Virginia. The move allowed the race to return to its original distance of 1+1⁄4 miles.^[4]

Several times throughout the race's history, it was nationally televised, usually through a simulcast aired on WGN-TV picked up by their superstation feed, NBCSN, and TVG throughout the years.

Records

Time record:

At 1+1⁄4 miles

• 1:58.19 - Set Piece (2023)

Most wins:

• 2 - John Henry (1981, 1984)

Longest odds:

• 40.60 - Mill Native (1988)

Shortest odds:

• 0.50 - Bricks and Mortar (2019)

Most wins by an owner:

• 3 - Juddmonte Farms (2000, 2002, 2023)

Most wins by a jockey:

• 2 - Laffit Pincay, Jr. (1982, 1991)
• 2 - Cash Asmussen (1988, 1992)
• 2 - José A. Santos (1990, 1993)
• 2 - Gary Stevens (1990, 1997)
• 2 - Jerry D. Bailey (2000, 2002)
• 2 - Ramon A. Dominguez (2009, 2012)
• 2 - Irad Ortiz Jr. (2018, 2019)
• 2 - Florent Geroux (2015, 2023)

Most wins by a trainer:

• 4 - Chad C. Brown (2013, 2017, 2018, 2019)

Largest Margin of Victory:

• 5 Lengths - Estrapade (1986)

Shortest Margin of Victory:

• Nose - John Henry (1981)

Winners of the Arlington Million

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time	Distance	Track	Ref
2024	Nations Pride (IRE)	5	William Buick	Charlie Appleby	Godolphin	2:01.96	1+1⁄4 miles	Colonial	[9]
2023	Set Piece (GB)	7	Florent Geroux	Brad H. Cox	Juddmonte Farms	1:58.19	1+1⁄4 miles	Colonial	[10]
2022	Santin	4	Tyler Gaffalione	Brendan P. Walsh	Godolphin	1:46.88	1+1⁄8 miles	Churchill	[11]
2021	Two Emmys	5	James Graham	Hugh Robertson	Wolfe Racing and Hugh Robertson	2:03.34	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[12]
2020	Not run due to the COVID-19 pandemic[13]
2019	Bricks and Mortar	4	Irad Ortiz Jr.	Chad C. Brown	Klaravich Stables & William H. Lawrence	1:59.44	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[14]
2018	Robert Bruce (CHI)	4	Irad Ortiz Jr.	Chad C. Brown	Convento Viejo LLC	2:02.29	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[15]
2017	Beach Patrol	4	Joel Rosario	Chad C. Brown	James Covello, Sheep Pond Partners & Head Of Plains Partners	2:02.39	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[16]
2016	Mondialiste	6	Daniel Tudhope	David O'Meara	Geoff and Sandra Turnbull	2:01.87	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[17]
2015	The Pizza Man	6	Florent Geroux	Roger A. Brueggemann	Midwest Thoroughbreds	2:02.20	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[18]
2014	Hardest Core	4	Eriluis Vaz	Edward Graham	Andrew Bentley Stables	2:01.51	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[19]
2013	Real Solution***	4	Alan Garcia	Chad C. Brown	Kenneth L. Ramsey and Sarah K. Ramsey	2:00.99	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[20]
2012	Little Mike	5	Ramon Dominguez	Dale Romans	Priscilla Vaccarezza	2:02.44	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[21]
2011	Cape Blanco	4	Jamie Spencer	Aidan O'Brien	Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor & Mrs F Hay	2:05.39	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[22]
2010	Debussy	4	William Buick	John Gosden	Princess Haya of Jordan	2:03.01	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[23]
2009	Gio Ponti	4	Ramon Dominguez	Christophe Clement	Castleton Lyons	2:04.19	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[24]
2008	Spirit One	4	Ioritz Mendizabal	Philip Demercastel	Kamel Chehboub	2:02.17	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[25]
2007	Jambalaya	5	Robby Albarado	Catherine Day Phillips	Todd Phillips & Catherine Day Phillips	2:04.76	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[26]
2006	The Tin Man	8	Victor Espinoza	Richard Mandella	Ralph and Aury Todd	2:01.35	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[27]
2005	Powerscourt	5	Kieren Fallon	Aidan O'Brien	Sue Magnier	2:03.38	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[28]
2004	Kicken Kris **	4	Kent Desormeaux	Michael R. Matz	Brushwood Stable	2:00.08	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[29]
2003	Sulamani *	4	David R. Flores	Saeed bin Suroor	Godolphin	2:02.29	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[30]
2002	Beat Hollow	5	Jerry Bailey	Robert J. Frankel	Juddmonte Farms	2:02.94	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[31]
2001	Silvano	5	Andreas Suborics	Andreas Wöhler	Stiftung Gestüt Fährhof	2:02.64	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[32]
2000	Chester House	5	Jerry Bailey	Robert J. Frankel	Juddmonte Farms	2:01.37	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[33]
1998 - 1999	Race not held
1997	Marlin	4	Gary Stevens	D. Wayne Lukas	Michael Tabor	2:02.54	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[34]
1996	Mecke	4	Robbie Davis	Emanuel Tortora	James Lewis Jr.	2:00.49	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[35]
1995	Awad	5	Eddie Maple	David G. Donk	Ryehill Farm	1:58.69	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[36]
1994	Paradise Creek	5	Pat Day	William I. Mott	Masayuki Nishiyama	1:59.78	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[37]
1993	Star of Cozzene	5	José A. Santos	Mark Hennig	Team Valor Stable	2:07.50	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[38]
1992	Dear Doctor	5	Cash Asmussen	John Hammond	Henri Chalhoub	1:59.84	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[39]
1991	Tight Spot	4	Laffit Pincay, Jr.	Ron McAnally	F. Anderson, V.J. Winchell & F. Whitman	1:59.55	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington	[40]
1990	Golden Pheasant	4	Gary Stevens	Charlie Whittingham	Summa Stable & Wayne Gretzky	1:59.60	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington
1989	Steinlen	6	José A. Santos	D. Wayne Lukas	Wildenstein Stable	2:03.60	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington
1988	Mill Native	4	Cash Asmussen	André Fabre	C. N. Ray	2:00.00	1+1⁄4 miles	Woodbine	[41]
1987	Manila	4	Angel Cordero Jr.	LeRoy Jolley	Bradley M. Shannon	2:02.40	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington
1986	Estrapade	6	Fernando Toro	Charlie Whittingham	Allen E. Paulson	2:00.80	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington
1985	Teleprompter	5	Tony Ives	Bill Watts	Edward Stanley, 18th Earl of Derby	2:03.40	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington
1984	John Henry	9	Chris McCarron	Ron McAnally	Dotsam Stable	2:01.40	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington
1983	Tolomeo	3	Pat Eddery	Luca Cumani	Carlo d'Alessio	2:04.40	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington
1982	Perrault	5	Laffit Pincay, Jr.	Charlie Whittingham	Serge Fradkoff & Baron Thierry van Zuylen	1:58.80	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington
1981	John Henry	6	Willie Shoemaker	Ron McAnally	Dotsam Stable	2:07.60	1+1⁄4 miles	Arlington

In 2021, the Arlington Million was known as the Mister D. Stakes.
* Storming Home finished first in 2003 but was demoted to fourth place following a Stewards' Inquiry.
** Powerscourt finished first in 2004 but was demoted to fourth place following a Stewards' Inquiry.
*** The Apache finished first in 2013 but was demoted to second place following a Stewards' Inquiry.

References

1. "Arlington Million history at Arlington Park". Archived from the original on 5 December 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
2. Breeders' Cup Challenge Archived 2008-09-13 at the Wayback Machine
3. Placek, Christopher (15 March 2022). "The Arlington Million will live on this year ... at Churchill Downs in Kentucky". Daily Herald. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
4. Finley, Bill (22 December 2022). "It's Official: Arlington Million Moved To Colonial Downs". thoroughbreddailynews.com. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
5. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - August 31, 1981
6. Milwaukee Sentinel - August 27, 1984
7. USA Today - Aug 12, 2007
8. Kieckhefer, Bob; King, Byron (15 March 2022). "Arlington Million Moves This Summer to Churchill Downs". The Blood-Horse. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
9. "2024 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 11)". Equibase. 11 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
10. "2023 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 10)" (PDF). Equibase. 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
11. "2022 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 11)". Equibase. 13 August 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
12. "2021 Mr. D. Stakes Grade 1 - (race 9)". Equibase. 14 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
13. Arlington Set to Start Shortened Season
14. "2019 Arlington Million XXXVII Stakes Grade 1 - (race 11)". Equibase. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
15. "2018 Arlington Million XXXVI Stakes Grade 1 - (race 11)". Equibase. 11 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
16. "2017 Arlington Million XXXV Stakes Grade 1 - (race 11)". Equibase. 12 August 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
17. "2016 Arlington Million XXXIV Stakes Grade 1 - (race 9)". Equibase. 13 August 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
18. "2015 Arlington Million XXXIII Stakes Grade 1 - (race 10)". Equibase. 15 August 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
19. "2014 Arlington Million XXXII Stakes Grade 1 - (race 10)". Equibase. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
20. "2013 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 10)". Equibase. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
21. "2012 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 11)". Equibase. 18 August 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
22. "2011 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 10)". Equibase. 13 August 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
23. "2010 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 10)". Equibase. 21 August 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
24. "2009 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 9)". Equibase. 8 August 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
25. "2008 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 10)". Equibase. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
26. "2007 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 9)". Equibase. 11 August 2007. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
27. "2006 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 9)". Equibase. 12 August 2006. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
28. "2005 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 9)". Equibase. 13 August 2005. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
29. "2004 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 9)". Equibase. 14 August 2004. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
30. "2003 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 10)". Equibase. 16 August 2003. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
31. "2002 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 9)". Equibase. 17 August 2002. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
32. "2001 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 8)". Equibase. 18 August 2001. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
33. "2000 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 9)". Equibase. 19 August 2000. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
34. "1997 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 9)". Equibase. 24 August 1997. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
35. "1996 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 10)". Equibase. 25 August 1996. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
36. "1995 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 8)". Equibase. 27 August 1995. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
37. "1994 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 10)". Equibase. 28 August 1994. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
38. "1993 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 10)". Equibase. 29 August 1993. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
39. "1992 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 10)". Equibase. 6 September 1992. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
40. "1991 Arlington Million Stakes Grade 1 - (race 9)". Equibase. 1 September 1991. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
41. "40-1 Mill Native Takes Arlington Million". washingtonpost.com. 20 August 1988. Retrieved 16 March 2022.

Notes

• In 2015, The Pizza Man became the lone horse bred in Illinois to win the Million.
• No races were held at Arlington International Racecourse in 1998 or 1999, as the Illinois horse racing authorities did not authorise dates for the track.
• Starting in 1991, timing was arranged to hundredths.
• In 2004, Pat Gibson won a million pounds on the UK version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? by correctly answering the Million was not a Triple Crown race in the United States (which were the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes).
• Starting in 2007, the winner of this race will qualify for the Breeders Cup World Thoroughbred Championships in the Turf Division.

External links

• Ten Things you should know about the Arlington Million at Hello Race Fans!