Ballerina Stakes
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The Ballerina Stakes is a
Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
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
fillies A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...
and mares that are three years old or older over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt track scheduled annually in August at
Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actua ...
in
Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...
. The event currently carries a purse of $500,000.


History

The inaugural running of the Ballerina Stakes was 20 August 1979 and was won by the
Ogden Phipps Ogden Phipps (November 26, 1908 – April 21, 2002) was an American stockbroker, court tennis champion and Hall of Fame member, thoroughbred horse racing executive and owner/breeder, and an art collector and philanthropist. In 2001, he was induc ...
-owned three-year-old filly Blitey, who was ridden by the US Hall of Fame jockey
Ángel Cordero Jr. Ángel Tomás Cordero Jr. (born: November 8, 1942) is one of the leading Thoroughbred horse racing jockeys of the late 20th-century and the first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the United States' Racing Hall of Fame. He led all jockeys in win ...
on a muddy track in a time of 1:23. The race is named for Howell E. Jackson's filly, Ballerina, who won the 1954 inaugural running of the Maskette Stakes, run today as the
Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
Go For Wand Handicap The Go For Wand Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race established in 1954 for fillies and mares age three and up. Raced in the fall, it is a Grade III race (Grade I before 2010) on dirt at a distance of one mile. Inaugurated in 1954 a ...
. In 1981 the event was classified as Grade III, upgraded to Grade II in 1984 and to Grade I in 1988. The sudden rise in stature of the event was due to the quality of runners who won this event and continued to win important Grade I races. In particular the winner of the second running in 1980 was the 1979 US Champion Three-Year-Old Filly
Davona Dale Davona Dale (1976–1997) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Background Owned and bred by Calumet Farm, her sire descends from Nearco and her damsire is Hall of Famer Tim Tam who won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness St ...
, the 1983 winner
Ambassador of Luck {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Ambassador of Luck , image = , caption = , sire = What Luck , grandsire = Bold Ruler , dam = Detente , damsire = Dark Ruler , sex = Mare , foaled = 1979 , country = United States , colour = Bay , br ...
who went onto become the US Champion Older Dirt Female Horse and
Lady's Secret Lady's Secret (April 8, 1982 – March 4, 2003) was an American Eclipse Award winning Thoroughbred horse racing, racemare that was listed in the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century. Lady's Secret was bred by Robert H. Spreen at Lucas ...
, the 1985 winner as a three-year-old, who in the following year would win the
Breeders' Cup Distaff The Breeders' Cup Distaff is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares, 3 years old and up. Known as the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic between 2008 and 2012, it is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or ...
. The only dual winner of the event, Shine Again failed by a nose to win a third time as a six-year-old when she was beaten by the 13-1 outsider Harmony Lodge in 2003. The event continues to be a part of the
Breeders' Cup Challenge The Breeders' Cup Challenge is a series of Thoroughbred horse races in which the winner earns an automatic spot in a specified Breeders' Cup race. The challenge races change somewhat each year. The Challenge series began in 2007 with 24 "Win and Yo ...
series with the winner of the Ballerina Stakes automatically qualifying for the
Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint The Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint is a 7-furlong (1408 m) Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred fillies and mares three years old and up. As its name implies, it is a part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, the ''de facto'' year- ...
.


Records

Speed record: *7 furlongs: 1:21.09 – Lady Talk (2004) Margins: * lengths – Hilda's Passion (2011) Most wins: * 2 – Shine Again (2001, 2002) 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 –
John Velazquez John R. Velazquez (born November 24, 1971) is a Puerto Rican jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. He began his career in Puerto Rico and moved to New York in 1990. In 2004 and 2005 he was the United States Champion Jockey by earnings and both yea ...
(2005, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2021) Most wins by a trainer: * 5 – C. R. McGaughey III (1984, 1988, 1991, 1994, 1999) Most wins by an owner: * 2 –
Ogden Phipps Ogden Phipps (November 26, 1908 – April 21, 2002) was an American stockbroker, court tennis champion and Hall of Fame member, thoroughbred horse racing executive and owner/breeder, and an art collector and philanthropist. In 2001, he was induc ...
(1979, 1999) * 2 –
Eugene V. Klein Eugene Victor Klein (January 29, 1921March 12, 1990) was an American businessman who was chairman of the board of directors and chief stockholder of National General Corporation, an insurance and entertainment company based in Los Angeles, Ca ...
(1985, 1986) * 2 –
Kinsman Stable Kinsman Stable is the '' nom de course'' for the American Thoroughbred racing stable of George Steinbrenner, best known as the owner of the New York Yankees Major League Baseball team. A director and former president of the Florida Thoroughbred Br ...
(1993, 2000) * 2 –
Bohemia Stable Allaire du Pont (May 4, 1913 – January 6, 2006) was an American sportswoman and a member of the prominent French-American Du Pont family of chemical manufacturers who is most remembered as the owner of the Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fa ...
(2001, 2002)


Winners

''Notes:''
§ Ran as an entry


See also

List of American and Canadian Graded races The List of American and Canadian Graded races is a list of Thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada that meet the graded stakes standards maintained by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders ...


References

{{reflist, 2 Graded stakes races in the United States Horse races in New York (state) Sprint category horse races for fillies and mares Grade 1 stakes races in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1979 Saratoga Race Course Breeders' Cup Challenge series 1979 establishments in New York (state)