The Rachel Alexandra Stakes is a
Grade II 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 ...
at a distance of one and one sixteenth miles on the dirt run annually in February at
Fair Grounds Race Course
Fair Grounds Race Course, often known as New Orleans Fair Grounds, is a thoroughbred racetrack and racino in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is operated by Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company, LLC.
As early as 1838 Bernard de Marigny, Ju ...
in
. The event currently offers a purse of $300,000.
History
The inaugural running of the event was on 6 March 1982 as the Davona Dale Stakes over a distance of one mile and forty
yard
The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly ...
s and was won by
Windfields Farm
Windfields Farm was a six square kilometre (1,500 acre) Thoroughbred horse breeding farm that was founded by businessman E. P. Taylor in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.
Origin
The first stable and breeding operation of E. P. Taylor originated w ...
's Laura North who was trained by
US Hall of Fame trainer Grover G. Delp and ridden by jockey
Ronald Franklin in a time of 1:42.
[
The event was named in honor of Calumet Farm's champion homebred filly ]Davona Dale
Davona Dale (1976–1997) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse.
Background
Owned and bred by Calumet Farm, her sire descends from Nearco and her damsire is Hall of Famer Tim Tam who won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness St ...
, foaled in 1976 was U.S. Champion Three-Year-Old Filly after winning the Grade I 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 sweeping the New York Triple Tiara series: the Acorn Stakes
The Acorn Stakes is an American Grade I race at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies. It is raced on dirt over a distance of one mile with a current purse of $500,000. It is the first leg of the US Triple Tiar ...
, the Mother Goose Stakes
The Mother Goose Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Raced on dirt in late June or early July, the race currently offers a purse of $300,000. Inaugurated in 1957 at a m ...
, and the 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 ...
. Davona Dale was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1985. Today Davona Dale
Davona Dale (1976–1997) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse.
Background
Owned and bred by Calumet Farm, her sire descends from Nearco and her damsire is Hall of Famer Tim Tam who won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness St ...
continues to have an event named for her as the GII Davona Dale Stakes
The Davona Dale Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three year old fillies, over a distance of one mile on the dirt held annually in late February or early March at Gulfstream Park, Hallandale Beach, Florida. The event ...
at Gulfstream Park
Gulfstream Park, owned by The Stronach Group, is a Thoroughbred race track, casino and outdoor entertainment and shopping destination in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Thoroughbred horse racing occurs year-round, defined by three distinct race meets ...
in Hallandale Beach, Florida
Hallandale Beach (formerly known simply as Hallandale) is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is named after Luther Halland, the son of a Swedish worker for Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railroad. As of the 20 ...
.
The event became a preparatory event for the Fair Grounds Oaks and was scheduled after the Thelma Stakes ''(today known as the Letellier Memorial Stakes for two-year-olds held in December)'' which was run over the six-furlong distance.
In 1985 the distance of the event was increased to one and one sixteenth miles and the winner Marshua's Echelon also was victorious in winning both the Thelma Stakes and the Fair Grounds Oaks.
The following year Tiffany Lass repeated Marshua's Echelon achievements and then continued with her undefeated streak winning the GI Fantasy Stakes
The Fantasy Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt run annually usually in early April at Oaklawn Park Race Track in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The ...
at Oaklawn Park and the GI 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 ...
. Although Tiffany Lass would not race in the second half of 1986 her performances were substantial enough to land her U.S. Champion Three-Year-Old Filly honors for the year.
In 1999 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 breeder ...
upgraded the classification of the event to Grade III. For the first running as a graded event, the US Champion Two-Year-Old Filly and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Silverbulletday
Silverbulletday (foaled January 22, 1996 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred champion racehorse. Bred in Kentucky, she was sired by Silver Deputy and out of the GII winning mare Rokeby Rose. Her damsire was Tom Rolfe, the 1965 Preakness Sta ...
from 1998 entered and began her three-year-old campaign in the event. Starting at short odds of 1/10 Silverbulletday
Silverbulletday (foaled January 22, 1996 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred champion racehorse. Bred in Kentucky, she was sired by Silver Deputy and out of the GII winning mare Rokeby Rose. Her damsire was Tom Rolfe, the 1965 Preakness Sta ...
faced seven other fillies and won the event by lengths.[ ]Silverbulletday
Silverbulletday (foaled January 22, 1996 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred champion racehorse. Bred in Kentucky, she was sired by Silver Deputy and out of the GII winning mare Rokeby Rose. Her damsire was Tom Rolfe, the 1965 Preakness Sta ...
would go on an win another seven more events of which four were 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 ...
and be crowned US Champion Three-Year-Old Filly of 1999.
In 2001, a year after Silverbulletday
Silverbulletday (foaled January 22, 1996 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred champion racehorse. Bred in Kentucky, she was sired by Silver Deputy and out of the GII winning mare Rokeby Rose. Her damsire was Tom Rolfe, the 1965 Preakness Sta ...
retired Fair Grounds track administration renamed the event to the Silverbulletday Stakes.
In 2002 running of the event Take Charge Lady
Take Charge Lady (foaled 4 February 1999) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. She was one of the leading fillies of her generation in the United States, winning 11 of her 22 races between April 2001 and November 2003, earning ov ...
equaled the track record in winning by lengths in a time of 1:42.09.
In 2003 the event was upgraded to Grade II status but this only was until 2005 when it was downgraded back to Grade III.
Due to the catastrophic damage caused by of Hurricane Katrina to the Fair Ground Race Course in 2005 the event was held at Louisiana Downs
Louisiana Downs Casino & Racetrack is a horse racing track and racino located in Bossier City in northwestern Louisiana. It opened in 1974. The casino features over 800 slot machines. The track specification is a dirt track of & turf course of . ...
in 2006.
In 2010 Fair Grounds track administration renamed the event again to the Rachel Alexandra Stakes in honor of the 2009 American Horse of the Year, Rachel Alexandra
Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...
. Rachel Alexandra
Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...
had won the Fair Grounds Oaks in 2009 during her exceptional campaign that won her the Eclipse Award
The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse.
An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected American ...
.
In 2016 the event was upgraded from Grade III to Grade II status. In 2020, the purse was increased to $300,000.
The Rachel Alexandra Stakes is part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks and has produced multiple winners of that race, including Monomoy Girl
Monomoy Girl (foaled March 26, 2015) is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly of 2018 and Champion Older Female Horse of 2020. She showed very promising form as a juvenile in 2017 when she wo ...
(2018) and Serengeti Empress (2019).
Records
Speed record:
* miles: 1:42.09 – Take Charge Lady
Take Charge Lady (foaled 4 February 1999) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. She was one of the leading fillies of her generation in the United States, winning 11 of her 22 races between April 2001 and November 2003, earning ov ...
(2002)
Margins:
* 11 lengths – Out of the Bid (1987)
Most wins by a jockey:
* 3 - Kenneth Bourque (1984, 1987, 1991)
* 3 - Ronald Ardoin (1993, 1994, 1998)
Most wins by a trainer:
* 6 - Steven Asmussen
Steven Mark Asmussen (born November 18, 1965) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. The leading trainer in North America by wins, he is a two-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer and was inducted into the National M ...
(2005, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2020, 2021)
Most wins by an owner:
* 4 - Winchell Thoroughbreds (2005, 2009, 2014, 2020)
Rachel Alexandra Stakes – Fair Grounds Oaks double:
*Marshua's Echelon †(1985), Tiffany Lass †(1986), Prospectors Delite †(1992), Blushing K. D. †(1997), Silverbulletday
Silverbulletday (foaled January 22, 1996 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred champion racehorse. Bred in Kentucky, she was sired by Silver Deputy and out of the GII winning mare Rokeby Rose. Her damsire was Tom Rolfe, the 1965 Preakness Sta ...
†(1999), Shawnee Country ‡(2000), Take Charge Lady ‡(2002), Summerly ‡(2005), Untapable
Untapable (foaled 13 February 2011) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. She showed promise as a two-year-old in 2013 when she won two of her four races including the Pocahontas Stakes and was placed in the Starlet Stakes. In 2014 she emerge ...
(2014), I'm a Chatterbox (2015), Farrell (2017)
''Notes:''
† Rachel Alexandra Stakes was known as the Davona Dale Stakes
‡ Rachel Alexandra Stakes was known as the Silverbulletday Stakes
Winners
''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), ''Entry'' (film), a 2013 Indian ...
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 Oaks
References
{{reflist, 2
Fair Grounds Race Course
Flat horse races for three-year-old fillies
Graded stakes races in the United States
Horse races in New Orleans
Horse racing
Recurring sporting events established in 1982
1982 establishments in Louisiana
Grade 2 stakes races in the United States