Ben Ali S.

Run at nine furlongs (1 1/8 miles) on the dirt every spring at Keeneland for horses 4 years old and up, the Ben Ali Stakes was first run in 1917. The Ben Ali was named after James Ben Ali Haggin, who used money he earned during the California Gold Rush to created a Thoroughbred breeding empire with the Rancho Del Paso in California and Elmendorf Farm in Lexington, Ky. When Midway Road won the race in 2004 with a time of 1:46.78, he set a track record and gave trainer Neil Howard and jockey Robby Albarado their second of three consecutive wins in the race. Horses such as Kentucky Derby winner Decidedly, Preakness winner Louis Quatroze, champions Honest Pleasure, Mineshaft and Wise Dan have all won the race. Since 1976, Withholding and Aspro are the only two who have won it twice.