The Monrovia Stakes is a Grade II American

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

horse race 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

mare 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 fo ...

s, three years old and older over a distance of about

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hor ...

s on the downhill

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 ...

course scheduled annually in April 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.

History

The event was inaugurated in 1968 as the Monrovia Handicap. When conditions are too wet the Los Angeles Turf Club on discretion has moved the event to the dirt track. This has happened on several occasions including 1969, 1970, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1989, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2005 and 2019. The event was run in two divisions in 1979. The event was originally scheduled in February but the Los Angeles Turf Club in late 1999 moved the race to the start of the winter racing meet at Santa Anita whereby the race was run twice in the calendar year. The conditions of the race were modified so that three year old fillies could also enter the event. In 1999 and 2004 three year old fillies were victorious in the event. In 2006 the club reverted to later in the 2006–2007 winter meet and consequently the event was not held in 2006. In 2007 the conditions were reverted so that only four year olds and older fillies and mares could enter. In 2017 the event was moved from January to May and the event once again allowed three year old fillies to enter. The race is named after

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As th ...

, the local city near the track at Arcadia. The race was renamed to the current name in 2011. In 2019, the distance was shortened by over a furlong to five furlongs, and held on the dirt track due to the weather. In 2020 the event was extended to furlongs and the following year was held at furlongs.

Records

Winners

''Legend:''

''Notes:''
¶ Not held due to change of scheduling during the winter meet
† Viva La Vivi won the race but was disqualified and placed last for interference

External sites

Santa Anita Media Guide for 2019 Winter Meet

References

{{reflist, 2 Horse races in California Santa Anita Park Graded stakes races in the United States Turf races in the United States Sprint category horse races for fillies and mares Recurring sporting events established in 1968 1968 establishments in California Grade 2 stakes races in the United States

History

Records

Winners

See also

External sites

References