The Native Diver 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 three-years-old and older over a distance of one and one eighth miles on the dirt held annually in late November at

Del Mar Racetrack The Del Mar Fairgrounds is an event venue in Del Mar, California. It hosts the annual San Diego County Fair. The venue sits on a property along the Pacific Ocean coastline. It includes the Del Mar Racetrack, built in 1936 by the Del Mar Thoroug ...

Del Mar, California Del Mar (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Of the Sea") is a beach city in San Diego County, California, located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Established in 1885 as a seaside resort, the city incorporated in 1959. The population was 3,954 ...

. The event offers a purse of $100,000.

History

The race is named for one of the great sprinters and one of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

’s most favorite horses, Native Diver, who ranks 60th in

Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century ''The Blood-Horse'' (also referred to simply as ''Blood-Horse'' and displayed on its nameplate in upright all-capital letters without hyphenation as BLOODHORSE) is a news magazine that originated in 1916 as a monthly bulletin of the Thoroughbred ...

. The event was inaugurated on 6 May 1979 with a recorded crowd of 30,857 in attendance as the Native Diver Handicap at

Hollywood Park Racetrack Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred horse racing, race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to The Forum (Inglewood, California), the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, t ...

over the one mile distance and was won by the six year old Life's Hope who was trained by the US Hall of Fame trainer Laz Barrera and ridden by the US Hall of Fame jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. in a time of 1:35 flat. The event was classified 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 ...

for the first running but the following year it was downgraded to Grade III. The event has remained at that classification. The 1981 running was scheduled for the Hollywood Park Fall meeting and held on

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

weekend. The distance of the event was increased to miles in 1982 then reverted to 1 mile in 1984. In 1986 the distance was set at miles and has remained at that to date. From 2006 to 2014 it was held on a synthetic dirt surface. In the 2008 edition, Slew's Tizzy set a new Hollywood Park record for the all weather track for miles with a winning time of 1:46.78. The time however was not faster than the dirt stakes record which was set by the 1995 Argentine three year old champion

Gentlemen ''Gentleman'' (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man; abbreviated ''gent.'') is a term for a chivalrous, courteous, or honorable man. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire ...

(ARG) in the 1996 when he won by nine lengths in 1:45.35. The event was run as a handicap prior to 2012. With the closure of Hollywood Park Racetrack in 2013 the event was moved to Del Mar Racetrack.

Records

Speed record: * miles: 1:45.35 –

(ARG) (1996) *1 miles: 1:33.40 - Innamorato (1985) Margins: *9 lengths –

(ARG) (1996) Most wins: * no horse with more than one win Most wins by an owner: * 2 –

Elmendorf Farm Elmendorf Farm is a Kentucky Thoroughbred horse farm in Fayette County, Kentucky, involved with horse racing since the 19th century. Once the North Elkhorn Farm, many owners and tenants have occupied the area, even during the American Civil War. M ...

(1980, 1981) * 2 – Golden Eagle Farm (1994, 1999) * 2 – C R K Stable (2011, 2019) * 2 – Karl Watson, Michael E. Pegram & Paul Weitman (2021, 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 ...

: * 7 –

Chris McCarron Christopher John McCarron (born March 27, 1955, Boston, Massachusetts) is a retired American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey. He mounted his first horse ever at 16.5 years old and was racing professionally by 18. At only 19 years ...

(1981, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1999) Most wins by a trainer: * 8 – Richard E. Mandella (1983, 1986, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2020)

Winners

''Legend:''

External links

2020 Del Mar Media Guide

References

{{reflist, 2 Horse races in California Graded stakes races in the United States Grade 3 stakes races in the United States 1979 establishments in California Horse races established in 1979 Del Mar Racetrack

History

Records

Winners

See also

External links

References