Arkhill’s name in racing history will always be associated with the end of racing at Calgary’s Stampede Park. It was on June 14, 2008 that Arkhill won that track’s big event, the $125,000 Alberta Derby, by a length under Rickey Walcott over Papa Time. That afternoon was the final day of thoroughbred racing at Stampede.

Arkhill, a British Columbia-bred son of Orchid Devil, was racing for his breeder Neville Davis at the time. The Alberta Derby was his first stakes attempt and he passed it with flying colours. In fact, the gelding won seven of his first nine races at ages two and three while in the care of trainer Craig MacPherson.

The bay gelding followed up his Alberta Derby victory with a win in the Ky Alta Stakes and a fourth-place finish in the B.C. Derby.

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