The Native Diver 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-years-old and older over a distance of one and one eighth miles on the dirt held annually in late November at

Del Mar Racetrack The Del Mar Fairgrounds is a event venue in Del Mar, California. The annual San Diego County Fair is held here, which was called the Del Mar Fair from 1984 to 2001. In 1936, the Del Mar Racetrack was built by the Thoroughbred Club with foundin ...

Del Mar, California Del Mar (; Spanish for "Of the Sea") is a beach town in San Diego County, California, located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Established in 1885 as a seaside resort, the city incorporated in 1959. The Del Mar Horse Races are hosted on the De ...

. The event offers a purse of $100,000.

History

The race is named for one of the great sprinters and one of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

’s most favorite horses,

Native Diver Native Diver (April 16, 1959 – September 13, 1967) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Native Diver's nicknames included "the Diver," "The California Comet" and "The Black Horse." He compiled 34 stakes wins throughout his career, but never w ...

, who ranks 60th in

Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century ''BloodHorse'' is a multimedia news organization covering Thoroughbred racing and breeding that started with a newsletter first published in 1916 as a monthly bulletin put out by the Thoroughbred Horse Association.

. The event was inaugurated on 6 May 1979 with a recorded crowd of 30,857 in attendance as the Native Diver Handicap at

Hollywood Park Racetrack Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, the original Hollywood Park Casino was added to the ...

over the one mile distance and was won by the six year old Life's Hope who was trained by the US Hall of Fame trainer

Laz Barrera Lazaro Sosa Barrera (May 8, 1924 – April 25, 1991) was a Cuban-born American Hall of Fame thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Born in Havana, "Laz" Barrera was one of nine brothers who went on to become involved in thoroughbred horse racing in th ...

and ridden by the US Hall of Fame jockey

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 ...

in a time of 1:35 flat. The event was classified as

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 ...

for the first running but the following year it was downgraded to Grade III. The event has remained at that classification. The 1981 running was scheduled for the Hollywood Park Fall meeting and held on

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden a ...

weekend. The distance of the event was increased to miles in 1982 then reverted to 1 mile in 1984. In 1986 the distance was set at miles and has remained at that to date. From 2006 to 2014 it was held on a synthetic dirt surface. In the 2008 edition, Slew's Tizzy set a new Hollywood Park record for the all weather track for miles with a winning time of 1:46.78. The time however was not faster than the dirt stakes record which was set by the 1995 Argentine three year old champion

Gentlemen A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...

(ARG) in the 1996 when he won by nine lengths in 1:45.35. The event was run as a handicap prior to 2012. With the closure of Hollywood Park Racetrack in 2013 the event was moved to Del Mar Racetrack.

Records

Speed record: * miles: 1:45.35 –

(ARG) (1996) *1 miles: 1:33.40 - Innamorato (1985) Margins: *9 lengths –

(ARG) (1996) Most wins: * no horse with more than one win Most wins by an owner: * 2 –

Elmendorf Farm Elmendorf Farm is a Kentucky Thoroughbred horse farm in Fayette County, Kentucky, involved with horse racing since the 19th century. Once the North Elkhorn Farm, many owners and tenants have occupied the area, even during the American Civil War. M ...

(1980, 1981) * 2 –

Golden Eagle Farm John C. Mabee (August 21, 1921 – April 24, 2002) was an American Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorse owner and breeder whom ''About.com'' called "a California racing icon." A native of Seymour, Iowa, as a young man of twenty, John Mabee moved ...

(1994, 1999) * 2 – C R K Stable (2011, 2019) 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 –

Chris McCarron Christopher John McCarron (born March 27, 1955, Boston, Massachusetts) is a retired American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey. He mounted his first horse ever at 16.5 years old and was racing professionally by 18. At only 19 years o ...

(1981, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1999) Most wins by a trainer: * 7 –

Richard E. Mandella Richard Eugene Mandella (born November 5, 1950 in Altadena, California), is a Thoroughbred horse trainer and a member of the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame. Mandella's father, a blacksmith, introduced him to horses at an early age and while still in ...

(1983, 1986, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2003)

Winners

''Legend:''

External links

2020 Del Mar Media Guide

References

{{reflist, 2 Horse races in California Graded stakes races in the United States Grade 3 stakes races in the United States 1979 establishments in California Recurring sporting events established in 1979 Del Mar Racetrack

History

Records

Winners

See also

External links

References