The Best Pal Stakes is a Grade III American

Thoroughbred horse race Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

for two-year-olds over a distance of six furlongs on the dirt track scheduled annually in August at

Del Mar Racetrack The Del Mar Fairgrounds is a event venue in Del Mar, California. The annual San Diego County Fair is held here, which was called the Del Mar Fair from 1984 to 2001. In 1936, the Del Mar Racetrack was built by the Thoroughbred Club with foundin ...

Del Mar, California Del Mar (; Spanish for "Of the Sea") is a beach town in San Diego County, California, located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Established in 1885 as a seaside resort, the city incorporated in 1959. The Del Mar Horse Races are hosted on the De ...

. The event currently carries a purse of $150,000.

History

The event was inaugurated on 30 October 1967 as the Balboa Stakes with split divisions on the final day of the Del Mar 62 day racing season which went into the deep autumn. The event was for three-year-olds and older, and held on the

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricultu ...

over a distance of nine furlongs. The name reflected several area locations — Balboa Park near

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

Balboa Peninsula The Balboa Peninsula (also referred to as "Balboa" or "the Peninsula") is a neighborhood of the city of Newport Beach, Orange County, California. It is named after Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the first European to sight the Pacific ...

up the coast in

Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...

, and Balboa Avenue in Del Mar which is located adjacent to the Del Mar Fairgrounds — all named in honor of the Spanish explorer

Vasco Núñez de Balboa Vasco Núñez de Balboa (; c. 1475around January 12–21, 1519) was a Spanish explorer, governor, and conquistador. He is best known for having crossed the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean in 1513, becoming the first European to lead an ...

. The event was not run again until 1972 when conditions changed so that two-year-olds would run over a distance of furlongs. In 1974, the event was moved to the dirt track and run over a one-mile distance. In 1983 the event was classified as Grade III and was upgraded to Grade II in 2003. In 1995 the event was renamed to honor

Best Pal Best Pal (February 12, 1988 – November 24, 1998) was an American Hall of Fame champion racehorse, who retired as the all time record for purses of any California-bred earning (since surpassed) for his owners, the Golden Eagle Farm, US$5.6 milli ...

, a three time

California Horse of the Year The California Horse of the Year is an American horse racing honor awarded annually since 1973 by the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA) to a Thoroughbred racehorse bred in the state of California. Winners *2021 - Lieutenant Dan * ...

who won the Balboa Stakes in 1990 and whose career earnings totaled more than $5.6 million for his owner-breeder,

Golden Eagle Farm John C. Mabee (August 21, 1921 – April 24, 2002) was an American Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorse owner and breeder whom ''About.com'' called "a California racing icon." A native of Seymour, Iowa, as a young man of twenty, John Mabee moved ...

. The event has had several distance changes with last being in 2018 when the journey was set at six furlongs. The event's position in the racing calendar at Del Mar has led to the race being a preparatory race for the

Del Mar Futurity The Del Mar Futurity is a seven-furlong American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. A Grade I event since 2007, the race is open to two-year-old horses and offers a purse of $300,000. In 1971, it was ...

, which is scheduled usually several weeks later. Other notable winners of this event include the 1994 winner

Timber Country Timber Country (foaled April 12,1992 in Kentucky - February 24, 2016) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the first horse to ever win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and American Triple Crown Classic Race when he won the 1995 Preakness St ...

who went on that year to win the

Breeders' Cup Juvenile The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually in late October or early November at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup ...

and was crowned US Champion Two-Year-Old Horse who the following year became the first horse to ever win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and American Triple Crown Classic Race when he won the 1995

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...

. The 2009 winner,

Lookin at Lucky Lookin At Lucky (foaled May 27, 2007 in Kentucky) is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2010 Preakness Stakes. He was the 2009 Champion Two-Year-Old and 2010 Champion Three-Year-Old, becoming the first horse in 32 years to ...

, was crowned US Champion Two-Year-Old Horse and the following year also won the

2010 Preakness Stakes The 2010 Preakness Stakes was the 135th running of the Preakness Stakes thoroughbred horse race. The race took place on May 15, 2010, and was televised in the United States on the NBC television network. Lookin At Lucky, who was jockeyed by Marti ...

. The 2015 winner Nyquist followed up by winning the

and the

, along with being crowned the US Champion Two-Year-Old Horse and the following year winning the

2016 Kentucky Derby The 2016 Kentucky Derby was the 142nd running of the Kentucky Derby. The race was run at 6:51 pm Eastern Daylight Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United State ...

. In 2022 the event's classification was downgraded from Grade II to Grade III.

Records

Speed record: *6 furlongs: 1:10.22 – Havnameltdown (2012) * furlongs: 1:15.08 – Officer (2001) *7 furlongs: 1:22.20 –

(1990) *1 mile: 1:35.40 – Doonesbury (1979) and

Roving Boy Roving Boy (1980–1983) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred and raced by Robert E. Hibbert, Roving Boy was a descendant of Man o' War on his sire's side. His dam's grandsire was the undefeated Italian racing superstar, Ri ...

(1982) Margins: * lengths – Instagrand (2018) Most wins by a

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

: * 5 -

Alex Solis Alex O. Solis (born March 25, 1964) is a jockey based in the United States. He lives in Glendora, California and rides predominantly in Southern California. He got his big break and his first gained national prominence when he won the 1986 Preaknes ...

(1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2006) Most wins by a trainer: * 9 -

Bob Baffert Robert A. Baffert (born January 13, 1953) is an American racehorse trainer who trained the 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify. Baffert's horses have won a record six Kentucky Derbies, seven Preakne ...

(1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2016, 2022) Most wins by an owner: * 3 -

(1990, 1992, 1998) Best Pal Stakes –

double: * Diabolo (1974), Visible (1976), Flying Paster (1978), Bold and Gold (1980), Saratoga Six (1984), Best Pal (1990), Worldly Manner (1998), Flame Thrower (2000), Officer (2001), Lookin At Lucky (2009), (2010), Nyquist (2015), Klimt (2016)

Winners

''Legend:''

''Notes:''
‡ The inaugural running of the event in 1967 was for three year olds and older and was split into two divisions. The First Division winner Acknowledge was a six year old. The Second Division winner Het's Cadet was a four year old.
† In the 2008 Kelly Leak was first past the post but caused interference in the straight by drifting in and was disqualified and placed fourth. Azul Leon was declared the winner.
§ Ran as part of an entry

External links

2020 Del Mar Media Guide

References

{{reflist, 2 Del Mar Racetrack Horse races in California Flat horse races for two-year-olds Graded stakes races in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1967 1967 establishments in California Grade 2 stakes races in the United States

History

Records

Winners

See also

External links

References