Longacres Mile Stakes

Longacres Mile Stakes
Listed race
LocationEmerald Downs
Auburn, Washington, USA
Inaugurated1935
Race typeThoroughbred - Flat racing
Websitewww.emeralddowns.com
Race information
Distance1 mile (8 furlongs)
SurfaceDirt
Trackleft-handed
QualificationThree-year-olds and up
WeightWeight for Age with allowances
Purse$150,000

The Longacres Mile Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race generally held in August at Emerald Downs in Auburn, Washington. Formerly run under handicap conditions, the race is open to horses three years of age and older and is run on dirt over a distance of one mile (eight furlongs). It is the showpiece of the Emerald Downs race meeting.[1]

Created by Joe Gottstein for the Longacres racetrack's third season, the Longacres Mile Handicap ran at that Renton, Washington track from 1935 to 1992. From 1993 to 1995 the race held its graded status as the Budweiser Mile at Yakima Meadows. Since 1996 the venue has been Emerald Downs.

In 2008, Jennifer Whitaker became the first female jockey (aboard Wasserman) to win the Longacres Mile.

The event was downgraded to Listed status in 2022, when it changed from a handicap race to a Weight for Age event with allowances.[2]

The 2023 Longacres Mile was won by owner Ken Alhadeff, the grandson of race creator and former Longacres owner Joe Gottstein, under the name of Elttaes Stable ("Seattle" spelled backwards).[3] Elttaes Stable also won the Longacres Mile in 1942, 1967 and 1968 when the stable was owned by Gottstein.[4]

  1. ^ Longacres Mile at Emerald Downs
  2. ^ "2022 Longacres Mile Stakes Listed - (race 8)". Equibase. 14 August 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  3. ^ Hanson, Scott (13 August 2023). "Five Star General, owned by grandson of man who created the race, wins the Longacres Mile". Seattle Times. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  4. ^ Cottrell, George (11 August 2023). "Five Star General takes fourth shot at Longacres Mile win". Daily Racing Form. Retrieved 15 August 2023. Elttaes Stable memorably won the Longacres Mile in 1942, 1967, and 1968 when representing Longacres founder Joe Gottstein. Elttaes Stable is presently owned and operated by Gottstein's grandson Kenneth Alhadeff.