Kentucky Oaks

America’s premier and most lucrative race for 3-year-old fillies.

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WELCOME TO THE 2023/24 OAKS DAY

PRESENTED BY LONGINES

Friday, May 3, 2024
The Longines Kentucky Oaks is America’s premier and most lucrative race for 3-year old fillies – female horses – held each year on the day before the Kentucky Derby. This feature race is a $1.25 Million Grade 1 stakes race and awards the winning filly a garland of lilies, appropriately named “lilies for the fillies.” Like the Kentucky Derby, the Longines Kentucky Oaks race is one of the longest continually held sporting events in American history, and one of the only horse races to take place at the original site of its inception. The race was established on May 19th, 1875, by the same founder of the Kentucky Derby, Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark, and is modeled after the British Epsom Oaks. View the fillies in the Longines Kentucky Oaks.

Kentucky Oaks Day at Churchill Downs is the second highest attended horse race in the United States – following the Triple Crown of racing; the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. Aside from thunderous live horse racing, fans celebrate fashion and fundraising for critical women’s health issues.

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EVENT DAY HIGHLIGHTS

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KENTUCKY OAKS CHARITABLE INITIATIVE

On Kentucky Oaks Day, Churchill Downs Racetrack is a vision in pink as more than 100,000 guests are asked to incorporate pink into their attire in an effort to drive national attention to the fight against breast and ovarian cancer. One of the most beloved traditions of this 15-year effort is the Survivors Parade – a march of breast and ovarian cancer survivors that takes place on the historic racetrack prior to the running of the Longines Kentucky Oaks. We look forward to hosting 149 deserving survivors and fighters for this unforgettable experience on Friday, May 5, 2023.
The Kentucky Oaks charitable initiative has raised more than $1,000,000 for women’s health advocacy since its inception. This year, Churchill Downs has partnered with the Breast Health Program at Norton Cancer Institute and Horses & Hope to support their life saving efforts in the state of Kentucky.

FASHION

If you are planning to attend the Kentucky Oaks, we encourage you to artfully incorporate the color pink into your wardrobe — from hats to handkerchiefs, suits to sundresses, sunglasses to stilettos! The focus on pink both honors the Oaks official flower, the stargazer lily, and celebrates Churchill Downs’ advocacy and fundraising efforts for women’s health issues. Consider showcasing your elegant and creative ensembles in the Longines Kentucky Oaks Fashion Contest, for an opportunity to win a luxurious Longines time piece.