The San Felipe Stakes is an 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 ...
run annually 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. It is a
Grade II event open to three-year-old horses. Normally held in early -March, it is raced at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles ( furlongs) on dirt and currently offers a purse of $400,000. It is listed as an official prep race on the
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 ...
.
Race history
Inaugurated as the San Felipe Handicap in 1935, due to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
there was no race run in 1942, 1943, and 1944. From 1935 through 1940 the race was open to colts and geldings, three years of age and older. Since 1941 it has been restricted to three-year-olds and in 1952 was made open to all three-year-olds irrespective of their sex. It was raced as a handicap event from 1935 through 1941 and again from 1952 through 1990.
As a prep for both the Santa Anita and Kentucky Derbies, the San Felipe has featured many of California's top three-year-olds over the years, including Derby winners
California Chrome
California Chrome (foaled February 18, 2011) is a champion American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who won the 2014 Kentucky Derby, 2014 Preakness Stakes, Preakness Stakes, and 2016 Dubai World Cup. He was the 2014 and 2016 American Hor ...
,
Fusaichi Pegasus
Fusaichi Pegasus (; foaled April 12, 1997) is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2000 Kentucky Derby, and subsequently set a record at auction - selling for US$70M to Coolmore Stud.
Background
The colt was purchased as a y ...
,
Sunday Silence and Triple Crown winner
Affirmed
Affirmed (February 21, 1975 – January 12, 2001) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the eleventh winner of the American Triple Crown. Affirmed was well known for his famous rivalry with Alydar, whom he met ten times, includi ...
.
The 2019 San Felipe was cancelled due to Santa Anita's safety-related suspension of live racing.
Since inception, it has been competed over a variety of distances:
* 6 furlongs: 1938–1940, 1945–1946
* 7 furlongs: 1937, 1941, 1947–1951
* 1 mile: 1935–1936
* miles: since 1952
The San Felipe Stakes was run in two divisions in 1968 and 1970.
Race records
Speed record:
* 1:40.11 -
Consolidator (2005) (at current distance of miles)
Most wins by a
jockey:
* 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 ...
(1982, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1998)
Most wins by a
trainer:
* 8 -
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, 2001, 2004, 2009, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2021)
Most wins by an owner:
* 2 -
Fred W. Hooper (1949, 1982)
* 2 -
Andrew J. Crevolin (1953, 1954)
* 2 -
William Haggin Perry
William Haggin Perry (December 5, 1910 - November 12, 1993) was an American owner and breeder of thoroughbred racehorses.
Early life
Perry was the son of Henry Pierrepont Perry, a Wall Street stockbroker, and Edith Lounsbery, who was the daughte ...
(1965, 1968)
* 2 -
Burt Bacharach (1994, 1995)
Winners
* In 1983,
Naevus was disqualified from first to second.
See also
*
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
February 21, 1990 ''New York Times'' article on the creation of the Preview StakesThe San Felipe Stakes at Pedigree Query
Horse races in California
Santa Anita Park
Flat horse races for three-year-olds
Triple Crown Prep Races
Graded stakes races in the United States
Recurring sporting events established in 1935
Grade 2 stakes races in the United States
1935 establishments in California