The inaugural race in 1988 was sponsored by Molson Breweries with a purse of $750,000 and run as the Molson Export Challenge, reflecting the name of the company's flagship beer. It was changed to the Molson Export Million when the purse was increased to $1million. In 1999, under new sponsorship it was renamed and raced as the Atto Mile until 2006.
Since inception, the race has been run at three different distances:[1]
1 mile on turf: 1997–present
1+1⁄8 miles on dirt: 1991–1996
1+1⁄4 miles on dirt: 1988–1990
Originally restricted to three-year-olds on the dirt, with the modification to one mile on turf in 1997 the race was also made open to older horses. As a result of the change from dirt to turf, the race was ungraded in 1997 and 1998.[1]
Historical notes
In 2005, the Brazilian horse, Leroidesanimaux, set the record for the largest margin of victory at seven and three-quarter lengths while carrying the highest weight of any winner in the race's history at 124 pounds.[4]
In 2009, Ventura became the first female to win this race in 13 years. In the process, she also set the record time of 1:32.04.[5] Wise Dan broke this record in 2013 while becoming the first two-time winner of the race.[6]