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Summer Squall, with Racing Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day up, after their 1990 Blue Grass Stakes win.
Sporting Cot Campbell’s Dogwood Stable colors, Summer Squall went undefeated in all five of his starts as a two-year-old. By his three-year-old season in 1990, Summer Squall was a fixture among racing rans, best known for his rivalry with Unbridled.
Summer Squall bested Unbridled in four of their six meetings. The Neil Howard-trained colt won the 1990 Blue Grass Stakes by 1 3/4 lengths, while Unbridled trailed in third on a muddy track.
Summer Squall finished second behind Unbridled in the 1990 Kentucky Derby, but he would go on to beat his rival by 2 1/4 lengths in the Preakness Stakes two weeks later.
Strike the Gold, Chris Antley up, being led through the paddock at Keeneland ahead of the 1991 Blue Grass Stakes.
Strike the Gold, Chris Antley up, nearing the finish line to secure the jockey's single Blue Grass Stakes win in 1991. Strike the Gold finished second in the Florida Derby in March before his impressive performance in the Blue Grass, setting the colt up for his victory in the Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs three weeks later.
Strike the Gold’s win in 1991 gave Racing Hall of Famer Chris Antley his first and only Blue Grass Stakes win. Strike the Gold’s victory was also a first for Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito, who would claim two additional Blue Grass wins in 1998 (Halory Hunter) and 2004 (The Cliff’s Edge). The Alydar colt out of Majestic Gold won his next start in the Kentucky Derby three weeks later.
In 1991, radio personality Tom Leach produced this top ten ranking of Blue Grass Stakes races. The ranking was voted on by a panel of featured interviewees including legendary racing jockeys, owners, trainers, and farm managers including former Keeneland President Ted Bassett. These participants of past Blue Grass Stakes races reflect upon the biggest moments they witnessed or were a part of. Interspersed among the rankings are trivia questions covering the storied race's history.
Racing Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith piloting Prairie Bayou to their 1993 Blue Grass victory. Prairie Bayou, future Champion Three-Year-Old Male, finished second in the Kentucky Derby before winning the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico in his next start.
This photograph shows Holy Bull, Mike Smith up, at the finish of the 1994 Blue Grass Stakes with Valiant Nature and Mahogany Hall trailing. Taking the Blue Grass by 3 1/2 lengths, the race gave Mike Smith back-to-back Blue Grass wins.
This photograph showcases Skip Away, Shane Sellers up, capturing the 1996 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes by 6 lengths. The victory gave Shane Sellers his first of three Blue Grass Stakes wins.
Pulpit, Shane Sellers up, handily winning the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes in 1997. Bred and campaigned by Claiborne Farm, the A.P. Indy colt dominated the seven-horse Blue Grass field before finishing fourth in the Kentucky Derby in his next start three weeks later. On the heels of his win in 1996 aboard Skip Away, Shane Sellers scored back-to-back Blue Grass victories.
A muddy Halory Hunter, Gary Stevens up, being led to the winner's circle after claiming the 1998 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes by 2 1/2 lengths. After taking the race, Halory Hunter went on to a 4th place finish at the Kentucky Derby.
Menifee, Pat Day up, approaching the finish of the 1999 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes. Trained by W. Elliott Walden for owners Arthur B. Hancock III and James H. Stone, Menifee finished second in his next two starts — the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.