The Las Virgenes 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 three-year-old

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 ...

over the distance of one mile on the dirt scheduled annually in late January or early February at

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races ...

in Arcadia, California. The event currently carries a purse of $200,000.

History

The event was named after the Rancho Las Virgenes land grant in the

Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...

and

Simi Hills The Simi Hills are a low rocky mountain range of the Transverse Ranges in eastern Ventura County and western Los Angeles County, of southern California, United States. Geography The Simi Hills are aligned east-west and run for , and average aro ...

. The event was inaugurated on 26 February 1983 with Saucy Bobbie victorious, who was ridden by US Hall of Fame jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. and trained by US Hall of Fame trainer Lazaro S. Barrera in a time of 1:36. The event was scheduled in Southern California as a natural progression for three-year-old

with the

Santa Ynez Stakes The Santa Ynez Stakes is a Grade II American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt track held annually in early January at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, USA. The event curren ...

over 7 furlongs in January, Las Virgenes Stakes over one mile in February and the Santa Susana Stakes, later renamed as the

Santa Anita Oaks Santa Anita Oaks is an American Grade II Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Open to three-year-old fillies willing to race 8.5 furlongs ( miles) on the dirt. The race is a Grade II even ...

over miles in March. Althea, winner of the second running in 1984 later that spring became the first filly to win the

Arkansas Derby The Arkansas Derby is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is currently a Grade I race run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. In 200 ...

. The event was upgraded to Grade III in 1985. The winner that year was Fran's Valentine who was first over the line in her first race, the inaugural 1984 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Hollywood Park but was disqualified and place tenth. With the obvious quality of the runners in 1987 the event was upgraded to Grade II and the following year in 1988 the event reached Grade I status. The event has produced an outstanding number of fillies that have gone on to be champions both in their sophomore year and even later to become Champions winning Breeders' Cup events. These include

Goodbye Halo Goodbye Halo (February 12, 1985 – August 23, 2014) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. A daughter of the noted sire Halo, she won 10 graded stakes races over a race career spanning from ages two to four. Following her racing ...

and Lite Light who went on to win the

Kentucky Oaks The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers at Churchill Downs; the horses carry . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday ...

and

Coaching Club American Oaks The Coaching Club American Oaks is a race for thoroughbred three-year-old fillies and the second leg of the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing. Originally run at Belmont Park, the Grade I $500,000 stakes race was moved to Saratoga Race Course in ...

Serena's Song Serena's Song (foaled April 4, 1992) is an American Thoroughbred race horse. She won 17 graded stakes races, including 11 Grade I (some against males and older mares), in three seasons for $3,286,388 in earnings. Background Serena's Song is a s ...

went on to defeat colts in the Jim Beam Stakes and

Haskell Invitational Handicap The Haskell Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run over a distance of miles on the dirt held annually in July at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. The event is a signature event at Monmouth ...

en route to becoming US Champion Three-Year-Old Filly for 1995. The 2000 winner Surfside defeated older horses in the Grade II

Clark Handicap The Clark Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late November at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Among the oldest races in the United States, it was first run in 1875, the year the racetrack opened for business. C ...

also capturing US Champion Three-Year-Old Filly honors. The 2007 winner

Rags to Riches Rags to riches refers to any situation in which a person rises from poverty to wealth, and in some cases from absolute obscurity to heights of fame, fortune and celebrity—sometimes instantly. This is a common archetype in literature and popul ...

became a US Classic winner when she won the Belmont Stakes and going on to capture US Champion Three-Year-Old Filly honors. The US Champion Two-Year-Old Filly Champion Beholder won this race and went on to win the 2013 Breeders' Cup Distaff and was named US Champion Three-Year-Old Filly that year. In 2016 the event was downgraded to Grade II and again in 2021 to Grade III. The event is part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks.

Records

Speed record: * 1:34.86 – Zazu (2011) Margins: *13 lengths – Adare Manor (2022) Most wins by a jockey: * 4 –

Corey Nakatani Corey S. Nakatani (born October 21, 1970 in Covina, California, United States) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He got his big break in 1990 when he rode Itsallgreektome to win big stakes races. Nakatani has long resided on the S ...

(1991, 1995, 1997, 2005) * 4 – Gary Stevens (1987, 1992, 1993, 2014) Most wins by a trainer: * 6 –

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 Preakn ...

(1999, 2003, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2022) Most wins by an owner: * 3 – Robert & Beverly Lewis (1995, 2003, 2004) * 3 –

Spendthrift Farm Spendthrift Farm is a thoroughbred race horse breeding farm and burial site in Lexington, Kentucky, currently owned by Eric & Tammy Gustavson. It was founded by Leslie Combs II and named for the great stallion Spendthrift, who was owned by Combs' ...

(2013, 2015, 2021) Las Virgenes Stakes – Santa Anita Oaks double: * Althea †(1984), Fran's Valentine †(1985), Timely Assertion (1987), Lite Light (1991), Lakeway (1994),

(1995), Antespend (1996),

Sharp Cat Sharp Cat (1994–2008) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won fifteen of her twenty-two starts of which seven of her wins were Grade 1 events. Background She was a daughter of the two-time leading sire in North America, Storm Cat, and o ...

(1997), Excellent Meeting (1999), Surfside (2000), Golden Ballet (2001), You (2002), Composure (2003), Balance (2006),

(2007), Stardom Bound (2009), Beholder (2013), Fashion Plate (2014),

Songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 5000 ...

(2016),

Bellafina Bellafina (foaled April 29, 2016) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse and the winner of the 2018 Del Mar Debutante Stakes. Career Bellafina's first race was on July 4, 2018, where she came in 2nd place at Los Alamitos. Bellafina's next race w ...

(2019) ''Notes:''
† Santa Anita Oaks was known as the Santa Susana Stakes.

Winners

''Legend:''

References

{{reflist, 2 Horse races in California Santa Anita Park Flat horse races for three-year-old fillies Graded stakes races in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1983 Grade 3 stakes races in the United States 1983 establishments in California

History

Records

Winners

See also

References