Santa Anita Derby
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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 by ...
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 c ...
horse race 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 ...
in Arcadia, California. 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 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 ...
.


History

Inaugurated in 1935, the Santa Anita Derby has long been considered the most important
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...
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-year ...
. Since 2013, it has been part of the official
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 ...
, 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 Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...
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, includi ...
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 The track surface of a horse racing track refers to the material of which the track is made. There are three types of track surfaces used in modern horse racing. These are: * Turf, the most common track surface in Europe *Dirt, the most common trac ...
(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 The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses four years old and up and was once considered the most important race for o ...
in the same year, defeating eventual Horse of the Year
Seabiscuit Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a two-horse ...
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 The Sham Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old over the distance of one mile on the dirt scheduled annually in January at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The event currently carries a pu ...
,
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. Hist ...
, San Pedro Stakes, the Robert B. Lewis Stakes 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 first ...
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 Lucky Debonair (May 2, 1962 – July 10, 1987) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1965 Kentucky Derby. Background He was bred by owners Dan and Ada Rice of Wheaton, Illinois at their Danada Farm satellite operation ...
(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 best ...
(1998) Most wins by an owner: * 3 –
Rex Ellsworth Rex Cooper Ellsworth (November 15, 1907 – August 24, 1997) was a major owner in Thoroughbred racing and twice the leading breeder in the United States whose story was featured with a cover of the February 25, 1963 edition of ''Sports Illustrate ...
(1955, 1956, 1963) 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 ...
: * 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


See also

* Santa Anita Derby "top three finishers" and starters *
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


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