 It has been part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series since 2008 when the distance was changed to one and one half miles (12 furlongs) with the winner automatically qualifying for the Breeders' Cup Marathon at a similar distance.The Latonia Championship Stakes was established in 1919 by the Kentucky Jockey Club as a race for three-year-olds at the now defunct Latonia Race Track in Latonia, Kentucky, During the height of the Great Depression the race was suspended in 1934 and the racetrack closed permanently in 1939.In 1964, the race was revived by the recently built (1959) Turfway Park.