By Dick Downey

With Tuesday's news of the possible impending running of the Grade III Southwest Stakes in divisions, Travers Manley of Churchill Downs gave some historical perspective in a tweet that evening.

According to Manley, this would be third time for the Southwest Stakes to be run in divisions, but it'd be the first time since it last became a graded stakes race; that the last graded stakes to be split into divisions was in 2009 at Keeneland; and that the last graded 3-year-old Kentucky Derby prep race to be split up was the 1993 Fountain of Youth.

According to our research, the Southwest was last run in divisions in 2002, when Private Emblem and Paloma Parilla won the respective races. The only other time it happened was 1972.

The Southwest was ungraded until 1995, when it became a grade III. But it was downgraded in 2000 after it had been won by Mystery Storm, Ide, Smoke Glacken, Hot Wells and Jim'Smrtee. In 2008, it was restored grade III status.