The Sunland Park Derby is an 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 ...

held annually at

Sunland Park Racetrack Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino is a racino located in Sunland Park, New Mexico, a suburb in Southern New Mexico. Opened in 1959 as a Thoroughbred racing track, Sunland Park was the only legalized gambling venue in the region for many years. I ...

in Sunland Park, New Mexico. Inaugurated in 2003, the race is open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt and is sponsored by

WinStar Farm WinStar Farm is an American Thoroughbred horse breeding and horse racing, racing farm near Versailles, Kentucky, owned by Kenny Troutt. It won the 2010 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Owner and 2016 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder, Outstandi ...

Versailles, Kentucky Versailles () is a home rule-class city in Woodford County, Kentucky, United States. It lies by road west of Lexington and is part of the Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. Versailles has a population of 9,316 according to 2017 cen ...

. Held in March, the Sunland Derby currently offers a purse of $400,000. In its 11th year in 2013, it received Grade III status from the

American Graded Stakes Committee {{short description, Organization for Thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeders The American Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) based in Lexington, Kentucky is a trade organization for Thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeders. ...

for the first time in 2010.Two Fewer Graded Stakes in 2010
/ref> It is listed as an official

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 ...

prep race. The 2016 running of the Sunland Derby was cancelled due to an outbreak of

Equine herpesvirus 1 ''Equid alphaherpesvirus 1'', formerly ''Equine herpesvirus 1'' (EHV-1), is a virus of the family ''Herpesviridae'' that causes abortion, respiratory disease and occasionally neonatal mortality in horses. Initial spread of EHV-1 by a newly intro ...

. The 2020 running & 2021 running of the Sunland Derby was cancelled due to an outbreak of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Records

Speed record: * miles: 1:42.44 –

Stronghold A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

(2024) * miles: 1:46.94 – Cutting Humor (2019) 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 ...

: * 2 -

Victor Espinoza Victor Espinoza (born May 23, 1972) is a Mexican jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing who won the Triple Crown in 2015 on American Pharoah. He began riding in his native Mexico and went on to compete at racetracks in California. He has wo ...

(2006, 2007) * 2 - Martin Garcia (2013, 2014) Most wins by a trainer: * 3 -

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, 2013, 2014) * 3 -

Doug O'Neill Douglas F. O'Neill (born May 24, 1968) is an American Thoroughbred horse trainer. He was born in Dearborn, Michigan, and resides in California, where he trained the 2012 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner, I'll Have Another, and 2016 Kent ...

(2003, 2005, 2022) Most wins by an owner: * 2 -

Michael E. Pegram Michael E. Pegram (born February 16, 1952 in Fort Knox, Kentucky) is the co-owner of the 2010 Preakness Stakes winner Lookin at Lucky and owner of the 1998 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Real Quiet. He grew up in Princeton, Indiana go ...

(2006, 2013)

Winners

References

{{Reflist
The 2009 Sunland Derby at the NTRA
2003 establishments in New Mexico Horse races in New Mexico Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino Flat horse races for three-year-olds Triple Crown Prep Races Graded stakes races in the United States Grade 3 stakes races in the United States Recurring events established in 2003 Sports in New Mexico

Records

Winners

See also

References