The Santa Monica Stakes is an American

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 ...

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 in late January/early February 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 th ...

. Open to

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 ...

and

mares A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four y ...

age four and older, it is run on the dirt over a distance of seven

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

s. Until 2010, the race name was the Santa Monica Handicap./ Santa Monica Stakes (Gr. 2) (equibase.com)
Retrieved Mar./13/2019 Inaugurated in 1957, through 1959 it was open to horses three-year-olds and up of either sex. The race was run in two divisions in 1961 and 1965. It was rated as GII in 1973–1983, GIII in 1984–1987, GII in 1988 and 1989, GI in 1990–2012, and GII in 2013 and later.

Records

Speed record: * 1:20.60 – Past Forgetting (1982) (dirt) Most wins: * Chop House (1964, 1965) * Past Forgetting (1982, 1983) * Pine Tree Lane (1987, 1988) * Merneith (2021, 2022) 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 ...

: * 6 –

Bill Shoemaker William Lee Shoemaker (August 19, 1931 – October 12, 2003) was an American jockey. For 29 years he held the world record for total professional jockey victories. Early life Referred to as "Bill", "Willie," and "The Shoe", William Lee Sh ...

(1961 (2×), 1963, 1980, 1982, 1985) Most wins by a trainer: * 7 –

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 ...

(2006, 2007, 2010, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023) Most wins by an owner: * 3 – C. V. Whitney (1959, 1960, 1961) * 3 –

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 daughter ...

(1965, 1966, 1969) * 3 –

Bernard J. Ridder Bernard Joseph "Ben" Ridder (June 29, 1913 – July 29, 1983) was an American newspaper publisher who served as chairman of the board of directors of Ridder Publications, Inc. and an executive in the California Thoroughbred horse racing industr ...

(1978, 1982, 1983)

Winners

References

{{Reflist
The 2008 Santa Monica Handicap at the NTRA

Ten Things You Should Know: Santa Monica Stakes
Horse races in California Santa Anita Park Flat horse races for four-year-old fillies Sprint category horse races for fillies and mares Graded stakes races in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1957 1957 establishments in California