The San Vicente Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race run annually at Santa Anita Park. A

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 ...

event, the race is open to three-year-old horses willing to race seven furlongs on the dirt and currently carries a purse of $200,000.

History

Inaugurated in 1935 as the San Vicente Handicap, it was open to older horses until 1937. The race was run as a handicap event from 1935 until 1941, 1945 through 1948, 1956 through 1958, and 1960 through 1965. There was no race held from 1942 until 1944, 1949 until 1951, and again in 1970. In 1952 and 1953 the race was restricted to

colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

s and

gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

s. Since inception, it has been run at various distances: * 6 furlongs : 1935–1936, 1952–54 * 7 furlongs : 1937–1939, 1949–1951, 1955 to present * 1 mile : 1940–46 * miles : 1947–1948 Louis B. Mayer's U.S. Racing Hall of Fame filly, Busher, won this race against males in 1945. The filly,

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, won in 1947. In 2009 Evita Argentina became the third filly to win this race in 68 runnings. The race was once frequently used as an early prep for the Kentucky Derby for horses such as Swaps.

Silver Charm Silver Charm (foaled February 22, 1994) is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1997 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and 1998 Dubai World Cup (all of which he is the oldest surviving winner). He stood at stud in both Americ ...

, who won the San Vicente in 1997, went on to win that year's Derby and Preakness Stakes. However, because of its sprint distance, it is not part of the official Road to the Kentucky Derby and is now rarely used by Derby hopefuls. An exception was in 2016, when both Nyquist (the eventual Derby winner) and

Exaggerator Exaggerator ( foaled February 5, 2013) is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse, winner of the 2016 Preakness Stakes. Racing as a two-year-old in 2015, he won three of his six starts including the Saratoga Special Stakes and the Delta Jac ...

(the eventual Preakness winner) started their three-year-old campaigns in the race.

Records

Speed record: * 1:20.01 – Georgie Boy (2008) (synthetic surface) * 1:20.71 – Nyquist (dirt) 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 ...

: * 8 – Bill Shoemaker (1955, 1956, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1976, 1980) Most wins by a trainer: * 11- Bob Baffert (1997, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2020,2021) Most wins by an owner: * 3 – Rex C. Ellsworth (1947, 1955, 1956)

Winners of the San Vicente Stakes

References

{{reflist 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 Grade 2 stakes races in the United States