The Los Alamitos Futurity is a
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 ...
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 run over a distance distance of one and one sixteenth miles ( furlongs) on the dirt held annually in early December at
Los Alamitos Race Course
Los Alamitos Race Course is a horse racing track in Cypress, California. The track hosts both thoroughbred and quarter horse racing. The track has the distinction of holding four quarter horse stakes races with purses over $1 million, more than a ...
in
Cypress, California
Cypress is a city in northwestern Orange County within Southern California. Its population was 50,151 at the 2020 census.
History
The first people living in the area now known as Cypress were the Gabrieleno, a Native American tribe of the Ton ...
. The event currently offers a purse of $300,000.
History
The inaugural running of the event was on 29 November 1981 as the Hollywood Futurity and was won by Stalwart whose $365,805 winner's share was one of the largest in the history of American racing.
The event was upgrade to the highest classification of
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 ...
event in 1983. That year, the race had a total purse of $1,049,725, making it the first million-dollar race for two-year-olds and the richest Thoroughbred horse race at the time.
[
Between 1985 and 1990 the event was run at a shorter distance of one mile.]
With his win in 1987, Tejano became the first two-year-old to achieve career earnings of $1 million.[
The 1989 winner Grand Canyon won his fourth straight event and was undefeated winning by lengths in a fastest time ever set by a two-year-old of 1:33 flat.][
In 2006 the event was run on a new synthetic ]Cushion Track The track surface of a horse racing track refers to the material of which the track is made. There are three types of track surfaces used in modern horse racing. These are:
* Turf, the most common track surface in Europe
*Dirt, the most common trac ...
which was installed at Hollywood Park.
In 2007 the race name was changed to the CashCall Futurity under a sponsorship arrangement with the racing stable owner and founder of the CashCall consumer lending company, J. Paul Reddam
John Paul Reddam B.A. M.A. Ph.D. (born July 28, 1955) is a Canadian businessman, Thoroughbred racehorse owner and a former professor of philosophy at California State University, Los Angeles.
Biography
Career
Known by his middle name, J. Paul R ...
. Reddam's Slow Down Andy won the 2021 edition of the event.
With the closure of Hollywood Park Racetrack in late 2013 the event was moved to the Los Alamitos Race Course
Los Alamitos Race Course is a horse racing track in Cypress, California. The track hosts both thoroughbred and quarter horse racing. The track has the distinction of holding four quarter horse stakes races with purses over $1 million, more than a ...
and renamed to the Los Alamitos Futurity and held on the dirt track. The winner of the event in 2014 the 3/5 odds-on favorite Dortmund
Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...
broke the Los Alamitos track record for the miles distance.
In 2019 the event was downgraded by the American Graded Stakes Committee {{short description, Organization for Thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeders
The American Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) based in Lexington, Kentucky is a trade organization for Thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeders. ...
to Grade II status.
Six Futurity starters have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...
: Gato Del Sol (1982), Ferdinand
Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...
(1986), Alysheba
Alysheba (March 3, 1984 – March 27, 2009) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that won two legs of the Triple Crown in 1987. A successful sire, he produced 11 stakes winners.
A bay colt, Alysheba was sired by Alydar out of the mare Bel S ...
(1987), Thunder Gulch
Thunder Gulch (May 23, 1992 – March 19, 2018) was a Champion American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for his wins in the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes in 1995, which earned him the title of U.S. Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt.
Background
...
(1995), Real Quiet
Real Quiet (March 7, 1995 – September 27, 2010) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was nicknamed "The Fish" by his trainer due to his narrow frame. He is best remembered for winning the first two legs of American Triple ...
(1998), and Giacomo (2005). Preakness winners include Snow Chief
Snow Chief (March 17, 1983 in California – May 18, 2010) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse.
Background
Snow Chief was bred by Carl Grinstead. In 1984, retired vaudevillian and successful real estate investor Ben Rochelle bought ...
(1986), 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 ...
(2010), and Belmont winner A. P. Indy (1992). Real Quiet
Real Quiet (March 7, 1995 – September 27, 2010) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was nicknamed "The Fish" by his trainer due to his narrow frame. He is best remembered for winning the first two legs of American Triple ...
won the Derby and Preakness and Point Given
Point or points may refer to:
Places
* Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland
* Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States
* Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland
* Point ...
won the 2001 Preakness & Belmont. Oxbow __NOTOC__
An oxbow is a U-shaped metal pole (or larger wooden frame) that fits the underside and the sides of the neck of an ox or wikt:bullock, bullock. A bow pin holds it in place.
The term "oxbow lake, oxbow" is widely used to refer to a U-sh ...
, who was fourth in the 2012 Futurity, won the Preakness.
Colts that won this event and went on to take US Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse honors include 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), Declan's Moon
Declan's Moon (foaled 2002 in Maryland) is a retired American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was the leading American two-year-old of 2004, a year in which he was undefeated. His subsequent career was restricted by injuries.
Background
Foa ...
(2004) and Shared Belief
Shared Belief (February 15, 2011 – December 3, 2015) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old, he was undefeated in three races, including the Hollywood Prevue Stakes and Los Alamitos Futurity, and was named the American Champ ...
(2013).
Colts that won this event and went later in their careers to take awards include Snow Chief
Snow Chief (March 17, 1983 in California – May 18, 2010) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse.
Background
Snow Chief was bred by Carl Grinstead. In 1984, retired vaudevillian and successful real estate investor Ben Rochelle bought ...
, 1986 US Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse, A. P. Indy, 1992 US Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse and US Horse of the Year, Real Quiet
Real Quiet (March 7, 1995 – September 27, 2010) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was nicknamed "The Fish" by his trainer due to his narrow frame. He is best remembered for winning the first two legs of American Triple ...
, 1999 US Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse, Point Given, 2001 US Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse, 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 ...
, 2010 US Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse. Alysheba
Alysheba (March 3, 1984 – March 27, 2009) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that won two legs of the Triple Crown in 1987. A successful sire, he produced 11 stakes winners.
A bay colt, Alysheba was sired by Alydar out of the mare Bel S ...
finished second to Temperate Sil by a neck in the 1986 Hollywood Futurity[ but the following year after a sensational season was also honored with US Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse honors and in 1988 was US Champion Older Dirt Male Horse and US Horse of the Year.
2018 winner Improbable captured US Champion Older Dirt Male Horse honors in 2020. In 1985 ]Ferdinand
Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...
finished 3rd to Snow Chief in the event. After an outstanding season as a four-year-old, Ferdinand
Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...
was voted US Horse of the Year.
US Hall of Fame trainer 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 ...
has saddled 13 winners in this event which includes seven winners in row between 2014 and 2020.
Records
Speed records:
* miles (dirt): 1:40.74 – Afternoon Deelites
Afternoon Deelites (February 28, 1992 – February 14, 2023) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse.
Background
Afternoon Deelites was bred and raced by pianist, composer and music producer, Burt Bacharach (1928–2023) and trained by Hall of Fa ...
(1994)
* miles (synthetic): 1:40.82 – Into Mischief
Into Mischief (foaled March 28, 2005) is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. During his racing career, he won three of six starts including the CashCall Futurity. Since his retirement, he has developed into an outstanding s ...
(2007)
*1 mile: 1:33.00 – Grand Canyon (1989)
Margins:
* lengths – Mastery (2017)
*7 lengths - Matty G (1995)
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 ...
:
* 4 – 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 ...
(1985, 1995, 1996, 2005)
* 4 – Laffit Pincay Jr.
Laffit Alejandro Pincay Jr. (born December 29, 1946, in Panama City, Panama) was once flat racing's winningest all-time jockey, still holding third place many years after his retirement. He competed primarily in the United States.
Career
Pinca ...
(1987, 1992, 1993, 1998)
Most wins by a trainer:
* 13 – 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 ...
(1997, 1999, 2000, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
Most wins by an owner:
* 4 – Michael E. Pegram
Michael E. Pegram (born February 16, 1952 in Fort Knox, Kentucky) is the co-owner of the 2010 Preakness Stakes winner Lookin at Lucky and owner of the 1998 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Real Quiet. He grew up in Princeton, Indiana go ...
(1997, 1999, 2009, 2017)
Winners
''Legend:''
''Notes:''
§ Ran as an entry
Entry may refer to:
*Entry, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States
*Entry (cards), a term used in trick-taking card-games
*Entry (economics), a term in connection with markets
* ''Entry'' (film), a 2013 Indian Malayalam fil ...
† In the 2017 running of the event Solomini finished was first past the finishing line but was disqualified and placed third for interference in the deep stretch drive and placed third. McKinzie was declared the winner and Instilled Regard placed second.
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 ...
*Road to the Kentucky Derby
The Road to the Kentucky Derby is a points system by which horses qualify for a position in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby. It features dozens of stakes races for 2 and 3-year-old Thoroughbreds – the number and specific races have chang ...
References
{{Reflist, 2
Horse races in California
Los Alamitos, California
Flat horse races for two-year-olds
Grade 2 stakes races in the United States
Graded stakes races in the United States
1981 establishments in California