The Dinner Party Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in mid-May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the eighth-oldest graded stakes race in the United States and the oldest stakes race in Maryland and all of the Mid-Atlantic states. The race is open to horses age three and up and is run one and one-eighth miles on the turf. Currently a Grade III stakes race with a purse of $500,000, at one time the Dixie was a very important race that drew the top horses from across North America.
History First run as the "Dinner Party Stakes" when Pimlico Race Course opened in 1870, it was named for the 1868 dinner party in Saratoga Springs, New York where Maryland Governor Oden Bowie and others met and wagered, resulting in the building of the Pimlico race course for thoroughbred race horses.
The inaugural event was won by Preakness, for whom the Preakness Stakes was named, with Ecliptic finishing second.Dictionary of Virginia Biography: Thomas Doswell In 1871, it was called the Reunion Stakes and was won in a walkover by Harry Bassett. Suspended in 1888, in 1924, the race was revived by William P. Riggs, Maryland Jockey Club secretary.
Race name changes Dinner Party Stakes 1870, 2020–present Reunion Stakes (1871) Dixie Stakes 1872–1913, 1995,1997–2019 Dixie Handicap (1914–1994, 1996)
Modern era Champions of many eras are among the Dixie's winners. Ten winners or runners-up have won the Eclipse Award or Champion, the latest being Paradise Creek in 1994. Other Dixie Stakes Champions include Sky Classic (1992), Bowl Game (1978), Fort Marcy (1970), Turbo Jet II (1964), Assault (1947), Armed (1946), Whirlaway (1942), Sarazen (1925), Duke of Magenta (1878), and Tom Ochiltree (1875).2007 Maryland Jockey Club Media Guide, page 52 on March 3, 2007.
The winner of the Dixie Stakes is presented with one of the most revered trophies in American thoroughbred horseracing, a replica of the oldest trophy in North America, the Annapolis Subscription Plate. That replica, "The Dungannon Bowl", is a perpetual trophy given annually to the winner of the Dixie Stakes, the oldest stakes race run in Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic states.126th Preakness Stakes Souvenir Magazine, May 19, 2001, article titled, "It All Began Here, In Annapolis..." page 95-96 Retrieved Jan 21 2010
Run for many years as the Dixie Handicap, in 1965 it was raced in two divisions at a mile and a half. Or et Argent won the first division in a course record time of 2:30.20. A few minutes later, Flag won the second division, beating Or et Argent's record with a clocking of 2:29.00.
The 2018 edition of the race was run on dirt due to a heavy front of rain over Pimlico, and was downgraded to a Gr.III for the running. Fire Away, a half-brother to stallion Mr. Speaker, won the race.
The event was downgraded in 2023 to Grade III.
The 2024 edition of the Dinner Party Stakes was run on a very soggy track and resulted in a very slow winning time.
Records
Most wins: 2 – Sarazen (1925, 1926) 2 – Fort Washington (2025, 2026)
Speed record: mile : 1:40.57 – Ironicus (2015) mile : 1:46.14 - Never Explain (2023) miles : 2:27.80 – Nassipour (1985)
Most wins by an owner: 5 – Calumet Farm (1937, 1942, 1944, 1946, 2013)
Most wins by a jockey: 5 – Ramon Domínguez (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010)
Most wins by a trainer: 7 - Claude R. McGaughey III (1993, 2009, 2015, 2018, 2023, 2025, 2026)
Winners of the Dinner Party Stakes since 1870