The Laurel Dash Stakes is a

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 ...

run annually at

Laurel Park Racecourse Laurel Park, formerly Laurel Race Course, is an American thoroughbred racetrack located just outside Laurel, Maryland which opened in 1911. The track is miles in circumference. Its name was changed to "Laurel Race Course" for several decades unt ...

Laurel, Maryland Laurel is a city in Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington and Baltimore on the banks of the Patuxent River. While the city limits are entirely in northern Prince George's County, outlying developments extend into Anne Arunde ...

. An ungraded stakes open to horses age three and older, it is raced on

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 five and one-half furlongs.

Historical notes

The inaugural running took place on October 23, 1988 and was won by Daniel Wildenstein's outstanding runner, Steinlen. Once described as "probably the richest and most powerful art dealer on earth",Andrews, Suzanna
"Bitter Spoils"
'' Vanity Fair'', March 1998. Retrieved 8 October 2012. Wildenstein named the horse for the French

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

painter

Théophile Steinlen Théophile Alexandre Steinlen (November 10, 1859 – December 13, 1923), was a Swiss-born French Art Nouveau painter and printmaker. Biography Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, Steinlen studied at the University of Lausanne before taking a job ...

. Inclement weather caused track officials to be concerned about the safety of the turf course in 1997 and 2011 resulting in those races being switched to the dirt track.

Ben's Cat Ben's Cat (April 17, 2006 – July 18, 2017) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won 26 stakes races, including six victories in the Mister Diz Stakes and five in the Jim McKay Turf Sprint. He was a four-time Maryland-bred horse o ...

won that 2011 event and did it again in 2013. He is the only horse to have won the Laurel Dash twice and it is a noteworthy success in that one was on dirt and the other on grass.

Records

Speed record: * 1:01.71 @ current distance of 5 1/2 furlongs: Dubini (2019) * 1:07.29 @ 6 furlongs: Jazzy Idea (2012) Most wins: * 2 -

(2011, 2013) 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 ...

: * 2 - Laffit Pincay Jr. (1988, 1992) * 2 -

Edgar Prado Edgar S. Prado (Lima, June 12, 1967) is a Peruvian-born American jockey, a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame jockey in thoroughbred horse racing. His big break came in 1997 when he won 536 races, making him the fourth rider in history to win 500 races in ...

(1996, 2016) * 2 - Daniel Centeno (2017, 2019) Most wins by a trainer: * 2 -

King T. Leatherbury King T. Leatherbury (born March 26, 1933 in Shady Side, Maryland, Shady Side, Maryland) is an American Thoroughbred horse trainer, racehorse trainer who ranks fifth all-time in wins among U.S. trainers. Called a Maryland racing legend by Churchi ...

(2011, 2013) Most wins by an owner: * 2 - The Jim Stable (2011, 2013)

Winners

References

{{reflist Ungraded stakes races in the United States Horse races in Maryland Turf races in the United States Open sprint category horse races Laurel Park Racecourse Recurring sporting events established in 1988