The La Cañada 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 and
mares age four-years-old and older over a distance of one-and-one-sixteenth miles on the dirt track held annually in January 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 race ...
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 t ...
,
USA. The event currently offers a purse of US$100,000.
History
The event was named after a 1843
Mexican land grant known as Rancho La Cañada in the
San Rafael Hills and
Crescenta Valley of Southern California. The name means "ranch of the canyon". The rancho included the current day city of
La Cañada Flintridge.
Diseno La Cañada
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The inaugural running of the event was on 1 February 1975 over a distance of one-and-one-sixteenth miles and was won by the 1974 U.S. Champion Three-Year-Old Filly Chris Evert
Christine Marie Evert (born December 21, 1954) is an American former professional tennis player. One of the most successful players of all time, she was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 2 ...
who carried 128 pounds, winning by a nose as the 13/10 favorite over Mercy Dee with Lucky Spell in third place lengths away in a time of 1:41.[ The winning time recorded for the distance continues today to be the stakes record.
The following year, the distance of the event was increased to miles.] The event was run at this distance until 2011.
Given the quality of competition after the first two runnings of the event in 1977 the American Graded Stakes Committee classified the event as Grade II
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
.
In 1978 Santa Anita Park administration created the ''La Cañada Series'', a series of races for newly turning/turned 4-year-old fillies and run at an increasing distance. The series begins with the La Brea Stakes at 7 furlongs followed by the Grade II El Encino Stakes at miles in mid January, then the upgraded Grade I La Cañada Stakes at miles in mid February. Until the series ended in 2011 when the El Encino Stakes was discontinued, only three fillies had ever won all three races: Taisez Vous (1978), Mitterand (1985), and Got Koko (2003). The Santa Anita Park counterpart series for male horses is the Strub Series.
In 1990 the event was downgraded Grade II
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
.
For three years (2008–10) the event was held on the synthetic All-Weather course which had been installed at Santa Anita Park.
With the discontinuation of the El Encino Stakes in 2012 the La Cañada Stakes distance was decreased to miles and the race was scheduled in mid January.
In 2018 the event was run at a distance of one mile.[
In 2019 the event was downgraded Grade III.]
The 1986 winner Lady's Secret had an outstanding year culminating with a victory in the Grade I Breeders' Cup Distaff and winning the U.S. Champion Older Filly award and being voted as United States Horse of the Year. The 1996 winner Jewel Princess also won the Breeders' Cup Distaff and winning the U.S. Champion Older Filly award and being voted as United States Horse of the Year. While the 2000 Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
won two legs of the La Cañada Series and finished second in the El Encino Stakes.
Records
Speed record:
* miles: 1:41.60 – Chris Evert
Christine Marie Evert (born December 21, 1954) is an American former professional tennis player. One of the most successful players of all time, she was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 2 ...
(1975)
* miles: 1:47.60 – Glorious Song (1980), Safe Play (1982)
Margins:
* lengths – As Time Goes By (2022)
Most wins by a jockey
A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), 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 ...
:
* 5 – Gary Stevens (1987, 1994, 1999, 2002, 2016)
Most wins by a trainer:
* 5 – Bob Baffert (2004, 2011, 2017, 2022, 2025)
Most wins by an owner:
* 2 – Eugene V. Klein (1986, 1987)
* 2 – The Thoroughbred Corporation (2001, 2004)
Winners
''Legend:''
''Notes:''
§ Ran as an entry
Entry may refer to:
*Entry, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States
*Entry (cards), a term used in trick-taking card-games
*Entry (economics), a term in connection with markets
*Entry (film), ''Entry'' (film), a 2013 Indian ...
See also
List of American and Canadian Graded races
External links
2020 Santa Anita Media Guide
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Canada Stakes
Horse races in California
Santa Anita Park
Graded stakes races in the United States
Flat horse races for four-year-old fillies
Mile category horse races for fillies and mares
Horse races established in 1975
1975 establishments in California
Grade 3 stakes races in the United States