The Federico Tesio Stakes is an
ungraded American horserace contested over 1 1/8 miles on dirt by
three-year-old thoroughbreds at Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore,
Maryland. Traditionally run in mid April, as of 2009 the Federico
Tesio Stakes will be contested at the beginning of May.
While once a prep race for both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness
Stakes, its date change has made it only relevant to the Preakness
Stakes. With a purse of $75,000, it has always been a good race to
gauge the fitness and form of three-year-olds destined for many of
America's bigger, more prestigious races.
While its actual inauguration date is largely unknown, the Federico
Tesio Stakes was named after Italian Federico Tesio, owner of
Dormello Stud in Dormelletto, Novara in Northern Italy. He is widely
acknowledged to be one of the foremost thoroughbred breeders in
the history of horseracing.
In the last decade up to 2008, the fastest that the Federico Tesio
Stakes has been completed over 1 1/8 miles is in a time of 1:49.00,
set in 2001 by Marciano ridden by Mark Johnston and trained by
Timothy Ritchey for Win More Stable. During the same period, jockey
Ryan Fogelsonger won the race three times.
The 2008 Federico Tesio Stakes winner was New York State-bred
thoroughbred Icabad Crane, who went on to finish third in that
year's Preakness Stakes. Interestingly, in all five of his career
starts, Icabad Crane finished in the money, retiring with earnings
of $235,400. |
