The Ack Ack Handicap is a Grade III race for

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

run at

Hollywood Park Hollywood Park may refer to: Places United States * Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California * Hollywood Park, Chicago, a neighborhood in North Park, Chicago, Illinois * Hollywood Park, Inglewood, an entertainment complex and m ...

in June. Open to horses aged three and up, the Ack Ack is set at a distance of

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

s and offers a purse of $100,000. It was raced on dirt since its inaugural running in 2001 until 2007 after the new synthetic

Cushion Track The track surface of a horse racing track refers to the material of which the track is made. There are three types of track surfaces used in modern horse racing. These are: * Turf, the most common track surface in Europe *Dirt, the most common trac ...

had been installed. The race is named for the great Ack Ack, inducted into the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Av ...

in 1986 and the Horse of the Year in 1971, as well as ranking number 44 in the

Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century ''BloodHorse'' is a multimedia news organization covering Thoroughbred racing and breeding that started with a newsletter first published in 1916 as a monthly bulletin put out by the Thoroughbred Horse Association.

. This race was run as a stake in 2001.

Records

Speed record: * 1:27.15 - Joey Franco (2003)

Winners of the Ack Ack Handicap

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! style="width:140px" , Winner
! Age
! style="width:150px" , Jockey
! style="width:150px" , Trainer
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! Time , - , - style="background:#eee;" , align=center, 2010 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;", ''NO RACE'' , - , align=center, 2009 , Noble Court , align=center, 5 ,

Joel Rosario Joel Rosario (born January 14, 1985) is a Champion jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing, originally from the Dominican Republic. In the space of five weeks in 2013 he rode the winners of the Dubai World Cup and the Kentucky Derby. More rec ...

, John W. Sadler , Joy Ride Racing , align=center, 1:27.32 , - , align=center, 2008 , Rebellion (GB) , align=center, 5 ,

Rafael Bejarano Rafael Bejarano (born June 23, 1982 in Arequipa, Peru) is a champion jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. He trained at the Peruvian national riding school before embarking on his professional career in 1999. Having met with success, inclu ...

, H. Graham Motion , Hickory Tree Stable , align=center, 1:27.68 , - , align=center, 2007 , El Roblar , align=center, 5 ,

Victor Espinoza Victor Espinoza (born May 23, 1972) is a Mexican jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing who won the Triple Crown in 2015 on American Pharoah. He began riding in his native Mexico and went on to compete at racetracks in California. He has wo ...

Richard Mandella Richard Eugene Mandella (born November 5, 1950 in Altadena, California), is a Thoroughbred horse trainer and a member of the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame. Mandella's father, a blacksmith, introduced him to horses at an early age and while still in ...

, Stonestreet Stables LLC , align=center, 1:28.51 , - , align=center, 2006 , Lucky J. H. , align=center, 4 ,

Patrick Valenzuela Patrick Angel Valenzuela (born October 17, 1962, in Montrose, Colorado) is an American thoroughbred horse racing jockey. Born into a racing family, his father plus three of his uncles, including Ismael Valenzuela, were jockeys. He rode his first ...

Carla Gaines Carla is the feminized version of Carl, Carlos or Charles, from ''ceorl'' in Old English, which means "free man". Notable people with the name include: * Carla, French singer and former member of the children's music group Kids United * Carla Abe ...

, Harris Farms, Inc. , align=center, 1:29.66 , - , align=center, 2005 , McCann's Mojave , align=center, 5 , Jose Valdivia, Jr. , Patrick Gallagher , Mike Willman , align=center, 1:27.23 , - , align=center, 2004 , Taste of Paradise , align=center, 5 ,

Jon Court Jon Kenton Court (born November 26, 1960 in Gainesville, Florida) is an American jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. Having grown up in Florida, Jon Court began riding in Colorado at the now closed Centennial Park in 1980. He rode in Louisiana ...

, Molly Pearson , David B. Bloom , align=center, 1:28.02 , - , align=center, 2003 , Joey Franco , align=center, 4 ,

, Darrell Vienna , Gerald Frankel , align=center, 1:27.15 , - , - style="background:#eee;" , align=center, 2002 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;", ''NO RACE'' , - , align=center, 2001 , Grey Memo , align=center, 4 ,

Garrett Gomez Garrett Keith Gomez (January 1, 1972 – December 14, 2016) was an American Thoroughbred jockey who won two Eclipse Awards and thirteen Breeders' Cup races during his career. Racing career Early career Gomez learned to ride by watching his fathe ...

Warren Stute Warren R. Stute (September 30, 1921 - August 9, 2007) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer who conditioned racehorses for almost 70 years from a base in California. Clement L. Hirsch, co-founder and owner of Oak Tree Racing Associat ...

, Manzani, Ridgeley Farm & Russ , align=center, 1:28.19 , -

References

* Hollywood Park Media Guide Graded stakes races in the United States Horse races in California Hollywood Park Racetrack Recurring sporting events established in 2001 2001 establishments in California