The City of Hope Mile Stakes is a

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 ...

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 horses aged three years old or older over the distance of one mile on the

turf Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses. In British and Australian English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', ...

scheduled annually in September 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 ...

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 ...

. The event currently carries a purse of $200,000.

History

The event was inaugurated on 4 October 1986 as the Colonel F. W. Koester Handicap at the

Oak Tree Racing Association The Oak Tree Racing Association is an American nonprofit corporation that exists to conduct live thoroughbred horse racing in Southern California. Graded Stakes races at the Oak Tree meet Since Oak Tree Racing moved to Hollywood Park in 2010, so ...

meeting at Santa Anita Park as the eighth race on the racecard and was won by the US Hall of Fame,

Charles E. Whittingham Charles Edward Whittingham (April 13, 1913 – April 20, 1999) was an American Thoroughbred race horse trainer who is one of the most acclaimed trainers in U.S. racing history. Early career Born in Chula Vista, California, Whittingham began wor ...

trained

Palace Music Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Brothers, Palace Son ...

who broke the track record for the distance that was set by Pettrax in 20 April 1986. Palace Music in his next start would just fail winning the

Breeders' Cup Mile The Breeders' Cup Mile is a conditions races, Grade 1 Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up, run on a sod, grass course. It has been conducted annually as part of the Breeders' Cup, Breeders' Cup World C ...

finishing a head second to

Last Tycoon Last Tycoon (9 May 1983 – 27 May 2006) was an Irish bred Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the Breeders' Cup Mile and as a leading sire in Australia. Background Last Tycoon was bred in Ireland by his owner Richard C. Strauss's Ki ...

. Colonel F. W. Koester was part of

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

US Equestrian team, later was the General Manager of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association from 1955 to 1969 and was elected into the California Racing Hall of Fame in 1988. In 1989 the event was classified by the American Graded Stakes Committee as Grade III and was upgraded to Grade II status the following year. In 1996 the event was renamed to the Oak Tree Mile Handicap and at the same time was downgraded to Grade III. Between 1996 and 2006 the event had Breeders' Cup incentives which reflected in the name of the event. In 2003 the event was upgraded back to Grade II. In 2013 the name of the event was changed to the City of Hope Stakes in honor of the cancer treatment center in Los Angeles.Arroyo Seco Stakes changed to City of Hope Stakes
In 2017 the event was run as a Black Type event with a much lower purse as the Obviously Mile Stakes. The Irish bred Obviously won this event in 2012 when it was run as the Arroyo Seco Stakes and was fourth in 2013 and was third in 2016.

Records

Time record: * 1:31.84 – No Jet Lag (2013) Margins: * 4 lengths - Double Feint (1987), Urgent Request (IRE) (1996) Most wins: * 2 – Mo Forza (2020, 2021) Most wins by an owner: * 2 – Bardy Farm & OG Boss (2020, 2021) 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 ...

: * 4 – Gary Stevens (1986, 1988, 2000, 2018) Most wins by a trainer: * 6 – Neil D. Drysdale (1989, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2010)

Winners

''Legend:''

External site

City of Hope Cancer Research Hospital & Cancer Treatment

References

{{reflist, 2 Horse races in California Santa Anita Park Graded stakes races in the United States Grade 2 stakes races in the United States Open mile category horse races Turf races in the United States Horse races established in 1986 1986 establishments in California

History

Records

Winners

See also

External site

References