The Santa Barbara Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid April at Santa Anita Park in

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 ...

. A Grade III event open to fillies 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 contested of turf over a distance of one and a half miles. Inaugurated in 1935, through 1941 it was a race for two-year-olds. In 1952 and again in 1954 it was restricted to three-year-old

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

-foaled fillies and in 1953 for three-year-old California foals of either sex. From 1955 through 1965, it was open to horses age three-year-olds and up and then since 1966 for fillies and mares age four and older. The race was known as the Santa Barbara Juvenile Championship in 1937 and then as the Santa Barbara Stakes in 1935 and 1936, 1938, 1941, 1946 and 1952 through 1954. Since inception it has been contested at a variety of distances: * 3 furlongs : 1935–1938, 1941 * 7 furlongs : 1946, 1952 * 6 furlongs : 1953, 1954 * about 6.5 furlongs on turf : 1958 * 8.5 furlongs ( miles) : 1955–1957 * 9 furlongs ( miles) : 2007 * 10 furlongs on turf: 1962–2006, 2008–2015 * 12 furlongs on turf: 2017–present In 1958, the race was run at "about" distance. In 1973, 1977 and 1982, it was run on dirt. It was run in two divisions on three occasions: 1941, 1967, and 1968. There was no race run in 1939, 1940, 1942 through 1945, 1947 through 1951, 1959 through 1961 and 2016. This race was downgraded to a Grade III for its 2014 running.http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/82327/eight-stakes-elevated-in-status-for-2014

Records

Speed record: * 2:27.65 – Queen Blossom (at current distance of miles on turf) * 1:57.40 – Bequest (1991) (at distance of miles on turf) Most wins: * 3 –

Megahertz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or Cycle per second, cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, me ...

(2003, 2004, 2005) Most wins by an owner: * 3 –

Alfred G. Vanderbilt II Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Jr. (September 22, 1912 – November 12, 1999) was a British-born member of the prominent Vanderbilt railroad family, and a noted figure of American thoroughbred horse racing. He was the youngest-ever member of The Jockey ...

(1936, 1937, 1938) * 3 – Michael Bello (2003, 2004, 2005) 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 ...

: * 8 –

Laffit Pincay Jr. Laffit Alejandro Pincay Jr. (born December 29, 1946, in Panama City, Panama) was once flat racing's winningest all-time jockey, still holding third place many years after his retirement. He competed primarily in the United States. Career Pinca ...

(1968, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1993) Most wins by a trainer: * 7 – Charles Whittingham (1956, 1964, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1985, 1987) * 6 –

Robert J. Frankel Robert Julian Frankel (July 9, 1941 – November 16, 2009) was an American thoroughbred race horse trainer whom ESPN called "one of the most successful and respected trainers in the history of thoroughbred racing."Privman, Jay"Robert Frankel Dies ...

(1994, 1995, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007)

Winners

References

{{reflist, 24em

External links

The 2008 Santa Barbara Handicap at the NTRA
Horse races in California Santa Anita Park Graded stakes races in the United States Flat horse races for four-year-old fillies Middle distance horse races for fillies and mares Turf races in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1935 1935 establishments in California