The Santa Anita Derby is an American

Grade 1 First grade (also called Grade One, called '' Year 2'' in England or Primary 2 in Scotland) is the first grade in elementary school and the first school year after kindergarten. Children are usually 6–7 years old in this grade. Examples b ...

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 Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

for three-year-olds run each 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 ...

Arcadia, California Arcadia is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located about northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. It contains a series of adjacent parks consisting of ...

. It is currently run at a distance of miles on the dirt and carries a purse of $400,000. It is one of the final prep races on the official Road to the Kentucky Derby.

History

Inaugurated in 1935, the Santa Anita Derby has long been considered the most important West Coast stepping-stone to the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-yea ...

. Since 2013, it has been part of the official Road to the Kentucky Derby, offering the winner 100 points and thus assuring a position in the starting gate. Since its inception, ten Santa Anita Derby winners have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby (shown in bold in the Winners section below), plus seven horses who lost at Santa Anita went on to triumph in Kentucky. In 1988, Winning Colors became the first and to date only filly to win both Derbies. Santa Anita Derby winners have also been successful in other Triple Crown races, with

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, inclu ...

sweeping the series in 1978. Now run at a distance of miles (9 Furlongs), for the first three years it was run at miles, and at miles in 1947. Until 2008, the race had been run on a natural dirt surface. The race has been contested on Cushion Track (2008) and Pro-Ride (2009 & 2010) artificial surfaces. In 2011, the race returned to dirt. In 1938, Stagecoach became the only colt to win both the Santa Anita Derby and the Santa Anita Handicap in the same year, defeating eventual Horse of the Year Seabiscuit in the latter. Prep races leading to the Santa Anita Derby include the

San Rafael Stakes The San Rafael Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run at Santa Anita Park, located in Arcadia, California. The race was a Grade III event with a purse of $150,000 and was open to three-year-olds willing to race one mile (8 furlongs) ...

, San Miguel Stakes, Sham Stakes,

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

, San Pedro Stakes, the

Robert B. Lewis Stakes The Robert B. Lewis Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three year old horses at the distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt held annually in late January or early February at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Califo ...

and the

San Felipe Stakes The San Felipe Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Santa Anita Park 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 ...

, all run at Santa Anita Park. The Sham, Robert Lewis and San Felipe are also on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. As a result of World War II, there were no races held from 1942 to 1944. The 2020 race was held on Saturday June 6 due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Records

* At age 17,

Pat Valenzuela Patrick Angel Valenzuela (born October 17, 1962, in Montrose, Colorado) is an American thoroughbred horse racing jockey. Born into a racing family, his father plus three of his uncles, including Ismael Valenzuela, were jockeys. He rode his firs ...

became the youngest jockey to win the Santa Anita Derby when he rode Codex to victory in the 1980 race. * In 2000, Jenine Sahadi became the first woman trainer to win the Santa Anita Derby. * In 2005, Jeff Mullins became the first trainer to win three consecutive editions of the Santa Anita Derby. Speed Record:
Three horses share the record for the fastest winning time of 1:47 flat: * Lucky Debonair (1965) * Sham (1973) *

Indian Charlie Indian Charlie (March 27, 1995 – December 15, 2011) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1998 Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby, equaling the stakes record time, before finishing third in the Kentucky Derby in his final start. He is be ...

(1998) Most wins by an owner: * 3 – Rex Ellsworth (1955, 1956, 1963) Most wins by a jockey: * 9 – Gary Stevens (1988, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003) Most wins by a Trainer: * 9 –

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 Preakne ...

(1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2018, 2019)

Winners

† Indicates filly Bold typeface indicates Kentucky Derby winner

References

{{Reflist

External links

Ten Things You Should Know About the Santa Anita Derby at Hello Race Fans!
Horse races in California Santa Anita Park Flat horse races for three-year-olds Triple Crown Prep Races Grade 1 stakes races in the United States Graded stakes races in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1935 1935 establishments in California

History

Records

Winners

See also

References

External links