The Honey Fox 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

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 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 y ...

that are four years or older held over a distance of 1 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 agricultu ...

scheduled annually in late February or early March at

Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park, owned by The Stronach Group, is a Thoroughbred race track, casino and outdoor entertainment and shopping destination in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Thoroughbred horse racing occurs year-round, defined by three distinct race meets ...

Hallandale Beach, Florida Hallandale Beach (formerly known simply as Hallandale) is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is named after Luther Halland, the son of a Swedish worker for Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railroad. As of the 20 ...

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

History

The event was inaugurated on 25 May 1984 as the Honey Fox Stakes for three-year-old fillies over a distance of miles and pitted the two divisional winners Oakbrook Lady, Delta Mary from the newly created

Herecomesthebride Stakes The Herecomesthebride Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three year old fillies, over a distance of one mile on the turf held annually in March at Gulfstream Park, Hallandale Beach, Florida. The event currently carries a ...

which was held 16 days earlier. Oakbrook Lady was victorious over Delta Mary with longshot Lady Mellody a distant third in a time of 1:43 flat. The event was named after the winning mare Honey Fox who won thirteen races in her career including the

Grade II 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 ...

Orchid Handicap The Orchid Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares that are four years or older held over a distance of one and one-half miles on the turf usually scheduled annually in late March as an under card event on Fl ...

. In 1985 Gulfstream Park introduced a new race which was a predecessor to today's named event, known as the Joe Namath Stakes which continued the conditions established in the inaugural running in 1984 with a shorter distance of one mile. This race was named after the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

winning quarterback

Joe Namath Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943) is a former American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He played college foot ...

. In 1986 the event's conditions were changed to handicap which also saw a rename to Joe Namath Handicap. Gulfstream Park acknowledges that the Honey Fox Stakes had its beginnings from the Joe Namath Handicap. However, the name Honey Fox was used in events and a branch continued in 1985 and with the last running in 1991. Between 1985 and 1989 the event was held in split divisions. The event was upgraded to Grade III in 1994. The event was renamed to the Honey Fox Handicap in 2000 and between 2013 and 2017 it was run as a Grade II race. In 2009, the race was changed from a handicap to an stakes allowance weight basis and rename to the original name of the event - Honey Fox Stakes.

Records

Speed record: *1 mile 1:33:18 – Lull (2018) * miles 1:38.31 – Wend (2016) Margins: * 12 lengths – One Fine Lady (1984) ;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 ...

* 7 –

Jerry D. Bailey Jerry D. Bailey (born August 29, 1957 in Dallas, Texas) is an NBC Sports thoroughbred racing analyst and a retired American Hall of Fame jockey. Early years Bailey was born in Dallas but raised in El Paso. He had a pony as a child and became ...

(1990, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2004) ;Most wins by a trainer * 8 –

William I. Mott William I. "Bill" Mott (born July 29, 1953, in Mobridge, South Dakota) is an American horse trainer, most notable for his work with Cigar. Mott earned the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer in 1995 and 1996. He was inducted into the National ...

(1996, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2015, 2016)

Winners

Honey Fox (1984–1991)

''Legend:''

References

External links