La Brea Stakes

The La Brea Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually since 1974 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Open to three-year-old fillies, it is raced over a distance of seven furlongs on dirt, except from 2007 to 2011 when the track used a synthetic Cushion Track surface. A Grade I event, it currently offers a purse of $300,000 and is the last Grade I race for three-year-old fillies in the calendar year.

Inaugurated in 1974, through 1976 the La Brea Stakes was run at  1 ¹⁄₁₆ miles and open to three-year-olds. There was no race held in 1977 and 1986. In 1975, 1982, 1985 and 1990 it was run both in January and December. It was run in two divisions in 1975 and again in 1991.

Named for the area in Southern California called La Brea, noted for the La Brea Tar Pits in the middle of the city of Los Angeles. The word "brea" is Spanish for tar.

The La Brea Stakes is part of Santa Anita Park's La Cañada Series of races open to 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 G-II El Encino Stakes at  1 ¹⁄₁₆ miles in mid January, then the G-II La Cañada Stakes at  1 ¹⁄₈ miles in mid February. Since the creation of the series in 1975, only three fillies have 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.

Records

Speed record: (at present distance of 7 furlongs)

• 1:20.33 - Switch (2010)

Most wins by a jockey:

• 5 - Chris McCarron (1982 (2), 1991, 1995, 1996)
• 5 - Gary Stevens (1987, 1990, 1995, 1998, 2013)

Most wins by a trainer:

• 7 - Bob Baffert (1992, 1998, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012)

Most wins by an owner:

• 3 - Michael E. Pegram (1992, 1999, 2005)

Winners of the La Brea Stakes

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