The Louisville Courier-Journal reported Tuesday that Ellis Park has
renamed the Gardenia S. (G3), the track’s only graded stakes, as the Groupie
Doll S. for its 2015 edition.
The one-mile race for fillies and mares was won by Groupie Doll in 2011, when
she was a three-year-old, and she later finished third in the 2013 renewal.
Groupie Doll went on to be named champion female sprinter in 2012 and 2013.
“Everybody I spoke with thought it was the right thing to do,” said Dan Bork,
Ellis Park’s racing secretary. “As much as I hate to change the name of the
Gardenia, if there’s one horse that deserves it — a mare — it would be her.”
The Gardenia, inaugurated in 1982, was run at a distance of 1 1/8 miles
through 2004. Groupie Doll so far is the only winner of the race that has gone
on to win an Eclipse Award.
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