Iroquois Steeplechase

The Iroquois Steeplechase (also known as the Iroquois Hurdle Stakes) is an American Grade I NSA sanctioned steeplechase race run the second Saturday of May every year at Percy Warner Park in Nashville, Tennessee.

Iroquois Steeplechase

Class	Grade I
Location	Percy Warner Park Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Inaugurated	1941
Race type	Thoroughbred – Steeplechase
Website	Iroquois Steeplechase
Race information
Distance	3 miles
Surface	Turf
Track	Steeplechase, national fences
Qualification	Four-Year-Olds and Upward
Weight	Four-year-olds, 142 lbs.; older, 158 lbs.
Purse	$250,000

The race dates back to 1941 and has been held annually, except in 1945, due to World War II, and in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[1] The Iroquois itself is the culmination of a card of races which usually includes five to seven preliminary races, both flat races and steeplechases. The race is named for Iroquois, the first American-bred Thoroughbred to win the prestigious British Epsom Derby.^[2]

Several winners of the race have been named American Champion Steeplechase Horse, including Flatterer, Lonesome Glory, Snap Decision, Correggio, All Gong, Good Night Shirt, Pierrot Lunaire, Divine Fortune, Demonstrative, Rawnaq, and Scorpiancer.

The race is three miles (4.8 km) long, over national fences and for four-year-olds and over.^[3]

Records since 1991

Speed record:

• 5:36.20 – Arcadius (2012)

Most wins by a horse:

• 3 – Uncle Edwin (1982, 1985, 1986)

Most wins by a jockey:

• 4 – Blythe Miller (1991, 1992, 1995, 2002)

Most wins by a trainer:

• 8 – Jack Fisher (1996, 2007, 2008, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024)

Most wins by an owner:

• 4 – Burton Street US (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022)
• 3 – Irvin S. Naylor (2010, 2011, 2016)
• 3 – William C. Lickle (1991, 1992, 1997)

Winners

1982–1990

• 1982 Uncle Edwin
• 1983 Census
• 1984 Census
• 1985 Uncle Edwin
• 1986 Uncle Edwin
• 1987 Flatterer
• 1988 Steve Canyon
• 1989 Kesslin
• 1990 Pacific Spy

1991–present

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
1991[4]	Victorian Hill	6	Blythe Miller	Janet Elliot	William C. Lickle	5:29.40
1992[5]	Victorian Hill	7	Blythe Miller	Janet Elliot	William C. Lickle	5:31.90
1993[6]	Mistico	7	Sanna Neilson	Jonathan E. Sheppard	R. Dee Hubbard	5:43.00
1994[7]	Mistico	8	Craig Thornton	Jonathan E. Sheppard	R. Dee Hubbard	5:28.60
1995[8]	Lonesome Glory	7	Blythe Miller	F. Bruce Miller	Walter M. Jeffords, Jr.	5:32.80
1996[9]	To Ridley	6	Sean Clancy	Jack Fisher	Mrs. F. Eugene Dixon, Jr.	5:41.80
1997[10]	Correggio	6	Archibald Kingsley	Janet Elliot	William C. Lickle	5:51.80
1998[11]	Rowdy Irishman	9	Vincent Marzullo	Bruce Haynes	Vesta Balestiere	5:51.80
1999[12]	Rowdy Irishman	10	Vincent Marzullo	Bruce Haynes	Vesta Balestiere	5:50.60
2000[13]	Pinkie Swear	6	Sean Clancy	Charles Fenwick Jr.	Arcadia Stable	5:50.00
2001[14]	Rand	7	Eddie Lamb	Mark Oulaghan	Eamon Cleary	5:35.00
2002[15]	All Gong	8	Blythe Miller	F. Bruce Miller	Calvin Houghland	5:32.40
2003[16]	Pelagos	8	Tom Foley	F. Bruce Miller	Mr. & Mrs. Michael E. Hoffman	5:46.60
2004[17]	Tres Touche	7	David Bentley	Richard Hendicks	Estate of Barracuda Stables	5:38.60
2005[18]	Sur La Tete	7	Christopher Read	Neil R. Morris	Kinross Corporation	5:47.40
2006[19]	Sur La Tete	8	Christopher Read	Neil R. Morris	Kinross Corporation	5:47.60
2007[20]	Good Night Shirt	6	Willie Dowling	Jack Fisher	Harold A. Via Jr.	5:50.40
2008[21]	Good Night Shirt	7	Willie Dowling	Jack Fisher	Harold A. Via Jr.	5:47.60
2009[22]	Pierrot Lunaire	5	Chip Miller	F. Bruce Miller	Calvin Houghland	6:27.40
2010[23]	Tax Ruling	7	Darren Nagle	Desmond Fogarty	Irvin S. Naylor	5:37.20
2011[24]	Tax Ruling	8	Darren Nagle	Brianne A. Slater	Irvin S. Naylor	5:46.20
2012[25]	Arcadius	8	Brian Crowley	Jonathan E. Sheppard	Hudson River Farms	5:36.20
2013[26]	Demonstrative	6	Robert Walsh	Richard L. Valentine	Mrs. George L. Ohrstrom Jr.	5:42.20
2014[27]	Divine Fortune	11	William McCarthy	Jonathan E. Sheppard	William L. Pape & Jonathan E. Sheppard	5:39.40
2015[28]	Demonstrative	8	Jack Doyle	Richard L. Valentine	Mrs. George L. Ohrstrom Jr.	5:47.60
2016[29]	Rawnaq	9	Jack Doyle	Cyril Murphy	Irvin S Naylor	5:42.40
2017[30]	Scorpiancer	8	Sean McDermott	Jack Fisher	Bruton Street US	5:37.00
2018	Zanjabeel	5	Ross Geraghty	Richard J Hendricks	Rosbrian Farm	5:36.40
2019	Scorpiancer	10	Sean McDermott	Jack Fisher	Bruton Street US	5:43.80
2020	Not held due to COVID-19
2021	Snap Decision	7	Graham Watters	Jack Fisher	Bruton Street US
2022	Snap Decision	8	Graham Watters	Jack Fisher	Bruton Street US	5:40.20
2023	Scaramanga[31]	8	Paul Townend	Willie Mullins	Malcolm C. Denmark	5:49.20
2024	Snap Decision	10	Graham Watters	Jack Fisher	Bruton Street US	5:32.40