The Royal Delta Stakes is a Grade III 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

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 that are four years old or older, over a distance of miles on the dirt held annually in February 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 ...

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 currently carries a purse of $150,000.

History

The inaugural running of the event was on 17 February 1991 as the Sabin Breeders' Cup Handicap over a distance of miles and was won by Fit for a Queen who was ridden by US Hall of Fame jockey

Jerry Bailey Jerry D. Bailey (born August 29, 1957 in Dallas, Texas) is an Thoroughbred Racing on NBC, NBC Sports thoroughbred racing analyst and a retired American National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame jockey. Early years Bailey was born ...

and trained by US Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey in a time of 1:42.50. The event was named in honor for

Henryk de Kwiatkowski Henryk Richard de Kwiatkowski (February 22, 1924 – March 17, 2003) was a Polish-born member of the Royal Air Force who became an aeronautical engineer, made a fortune in business in North America, and who owned Calumet Farm, one of the mos ...

's multiple Grade I stakes-winning filly Sabin and winner of the 1984

Orchid Handicap The Orchid Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares that are four years or older held over a distance of one and one-half miles on the turf usually scheduled annually in late March as an under card event on F ...

at this track where this event is held. Born in 1980, she made 25 starts and won 18 of them. The event was classified as Grade III in 1994. In 2009 the conditions of the event were changed to stakes allowances and the race was run as the Sabin Stakes.

Royal Delta Royal Delta (February 2, 2008 – February 10, 2017) was a Champion American Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorse. The daughter of Empire Maker was best known for winning back-to-back editions of the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic (later renamed th ...

, winner of

Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic The Breeders' Cup Distaff is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares, 3 years old and up. Known as the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic between 2008 and 2012, it is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States ...

in 2011 and 2012 won this race in 2013 easily by 5 lengths as the 2/5on favorite. In 2015, Gulfstream Park renamed the race after the three-time

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 ...

winner to the Royal Delta Stakes. This race was upgraded to a Grade II event for its 2014 running but returned to Grade III status in 2018. The event has had numerous distance changes which can be viewed in the winner's table in the Winners section of this article.

Records

Speed record: * miles – 1:41:00 Devil's Cave (2014) * 1 mile – 1:35.18 Blamed (2019) * 1 mile & 70 yards – 1:39.57 Hunzinga (1994) * miles – 1:50.49 Taittinger Rose (2006) Margins: * 8 lengths – Awesome Maria (2012) Most wins: * 2 – Awesome Maria (2011, 2012) 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 ...

: * 4 –

John Velazquez John R. Velazquez (born November 24, 1971) is a Puerto Rican jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. He began his career in Puerto Rico and moved to New York in 1990. In 2004 and 2005 he was the United States Champion Jockey by earnings and both ye ...

(2004, 2005, 2011, 2012) Most wins by a trainer: * 4 –

Todd Pletcher Todd Pletcher (born June 26, 1967 in Dallas, Texas) is an American thoroughbred horse trainer. He won the Eclipse Award seven times as Trainer of the Year, four of these in consecutive years. His horses Super Saver (2010) and Always Dreaming (20 ...

(2005, 2011, 2012, 2023) Most wins by an owner: * 2 – Joseph Allen (1997, 2004) * 2 – Hobeau Farm (1998, 2007) * 2 – Richard, Bertram & Elaine Klein (2001, 2003) * 2 – E. Paul Robsham Stables (2011, 2012)

Winners

References

{{reflist, 2 Horse races in Florida Graded stakes races in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1991 1991 establishments in Florida Grade 3 stakes races in the United States Gulfstream Park

History

Records

Winners

See also

References