The Forerunner Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the third week of April at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky. Open to three-year-old horses, it is contested on turf over a distance of one and one-eighth miles (9 furlongs).Inaugurated in 1950, the Forerunner Stakes was raced on dirt through 1988. Run at a distance of seven furlongs from 1950 through 1985, from 1986 through 1988 it was contested at 1 1⁄16 miles.