Stephen Foster Stakes: Churchill Downs, No. 20 in the IFHA Top 100, prize fund, results and next running

About the race

The Stephen Foster Stakes is run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, over 1 1/8 miles on dirt. In 2026 it was run on the penultimate day of the spring meeting. It is a Grade I race and a Breeders’ Cup Challenge ‘Win and You’re In’ qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Churchill Downs doubled the purse from USD 1,000,000 to USD 2,000,000 for 2026, and notes that four winners, Black Tie Affair, Saint Liam, Curlin and Gun Runner, won it during Horse of the Year campaigns.

The USD 1,000,000 44th running, on 28 June 2025, was won by Mindframe for Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable, trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. He beat Sierra Leone by a length in 1:47.48, with First Mission third. The IFHA rated the race at 120.50. The 45th running, on 27 June 2026, went to Winchell Thoroughbreds’ Magnitude, trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Jose Ortiz.

The 2025 running

Date	Winner	Jockey	Trainer	Owner
28 June 2025	Mindframe	Irad Ortiz Jr.	Todd Pletcher	Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable

From the official result.

The 2026 running

Date	Winner	Jockey	Trainer	Owner
27 June 2026	Magnitude	Jose Ortiz	Steve Asmussen	Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC

From the official result.

Recognition and facts

Qualifier for: Breeders' Cup Classic (Breeders' Cup Challenge 'Win and You're In')
Purse change: Doubled from USD 1,000,000 to USD 2,000,000 for 2026
2026 running: 45th, Saturday 27 June 2026
IFHA 2025 rating: 120.50 (rank 20)

Questions readers ask

When is the Stephen Foster Stakes run?

In late June near the end of the Churchill Downs spring meeting. The 2025 running was on 28 June and the 2026 running on 27 June. Churchill Downs had not published a 2027 date by 12 October 2026.

What is the prize fund of the Stephen Foster Stakes?

USD 2,000,000 in 2026, after Churchill Downs doubled it from USD 1,000,000.

Who won the Stephen Foster Stakes in 2025?

Mindframe, owned by Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable, trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., won on 28 June 2025.

Sources

The rank and rating are from the IFHA's LONGINES World's Top 100 Group/Grade 1 Races 2025, published 21 January 2026, which ranks races by the ratings of their first four finishers. Other facts are from the pages listed below.

The Top 100 Group 1 races

The list and its order are the IFHA’s. Equanine adds no quality judgement of its own. Each profile is compiled by the desk from the organiser’s pages and the official results. A listing does not buy coverage. Send an update or correction.

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