The Cecil B. DeMille 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 one mile 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 agricult ...
track scheduled annually in November 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 ...
in
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 $100,000.
History
The event was inaugurated on 11 November 1982 as the Hoist The Flag Stakes at
Hollywood Park Racetrack
Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, the original Hollywood Park Casino was added to t ...
and was won by Fifth Division who was trained by
A. Thomas Doyle and ridden by the
US Hall of Fame jockey
Laffit Pincay Jr. in a time of 1:35.
[ The event was named in honor of Hoist The Flag, the 1970 US Champion Two-Year-Old Colt whose career was cut short due to injury as a three-year-old. Hoist The Flag was successful as a sire and as a ]broodmare
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...
sire, he was the leading juvenile sire in North America in 1981 and the leading broodmare sire in 1987.
In 1986 the event was classified as Grade III[ After one more running the event was downgraded back to Grade III in 1990.]Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
bred Generous who in a period of seven weeks in 1991 won the Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...
by five lengths, the Irish Derby
The Irish Derby ( Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance ...
by three lengths and the by a record seven lengths. In 2005 the event was not held because the newly planted Hollywood Park's turf course had failed to root properly. Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...
and movie stars often frequented Del Mar Racetrack in the 1930s and ’40s. His grandson, Joseph Harper has been in a management position at Del Mar since 1978 and became CEO of the track in 1990.
Records
Speed record:
*1 mile: 1:34.28 - The Leopard (2007)
Margins:
*9 lengths – Incurable Optimist (1998)
Most wins by an owner:
* 2 - Henry Pabst (1991, 1992)
* 2 - Budget Stable (1997, 2015)
* 2 - Gary Barber
Gary Barber (born 1957) is a South African-born American film producer. Barber was the chairman and CEO of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He is also co-founder of Spyglass Entertainment.
Biography
Barber was born to a Jewish family in Johannesburg, So ...
(2010, 2011)
* 2 - Calumet Farm (2016, 2017)
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 - Chris McCarron
Christopher John McCarron (born March 27, 1955, Boston, Massachusetts) is a retired American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey. He mounted his first horse ever at 16.5 years old and was racing professionally by 18. At only 19 years o ...
(1983, 1984, 1987, 1996, 1997)
Most wins by a trainer:
* 2 - Jerry M. Fanning
Jerry M. Fanning (born November 23, 1932, in Colorado Springs, Colorado) is a trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses. He grew up in Texas and began his career in horse racing as a groom for his father, trainer Lev Fanning. In 1958, he took out a trai ...
(1983, 1984)
* 2 - Melvin F. Stute (1985, 1988)
* 2 - Ron McAnally
Ronald L. McAnally (born July 11, 1932, in Covington, Kentucky) is an American Hall of Fame trainer in Thoroughbred horse racing. Called "one of the most honored and respected of North American trainers" by Thoroughbred Times Co., Inc, as a chi ...
(1989, 1996)
* 2 - Kathy Walsh (1997, 2009)
* 2 - 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 ...
(2001, 2012)
* 2 - Todd A. Pletcher (2004, 2007)
* 2 - John W. Sadler (2006, 2011)
* 2 - Chad Brown (2017, 2021)
Winners
''Legend:''
''Notes:''
§ Ran as an entry
ƒ Filly or Mare
† Off turf
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 ...
External links
2020 Del Mar Media Guide
References
{{reflist, 2
1982 establishments in California
Horse races in California
Del Mar Racetrack
Flat horse races for two-year-olds
Turf races in the United States
Graded stakes races in the United States
Recurring sporting events established in 1982
Grade 3 stakes races in the United States