The Pacific Classic Stakes is an 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 ...

held annually August or September at the

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 ...

. This

Grade I 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, H ...

race is open to horses, age three and up, which race one and one-quarter miles on the dirt. The event currently carries a purse of $1,000,000.

History

The event was inaugurated on 10 August 1991 with a purse of

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

1 million and immediately became the premier event of the racing season at Del Mar. The first running was won by the 1990 California Horse of the Year three year old

Best Pal Best Pal (February 12, 1988 – November 24, 1998) was an American Hall of Fame champion racehorse, who retired as the all time record for purses of any California-bred earning (since surpassed) for his owners, the Golden Eagle Farm, US$5.6 mill ...

in a time of 1:59. Best Pal would run two more times finishing third to

Bertrando Bertrando (February 18, 1989 – March 27, 2014) was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. A tall colt that grew to 16 hands 2 inches, Bertrando was bred by Ed Nahem at River Edge Farm in Buellton, California. He was sired by Skywal ...

in 1993 and second to Tinners Way in 1994. The event was classified as

for the third running in 1993 and has held that class since. Notable among the runnings of the race was the 1996 renewal that saw champion

Cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and Fermentation, fermented tobacco leaves made to be Tobacco smoking, smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct comp ...

attempt to best

Citation A citation is a reference to a source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose o ...

's mark of 16 straight victories, but fall to a shocking upset by the unheralded 39-1 Dare And Go and jockey Alex Solis. Another exciting running saw Hall of Fame Jockey

Julie Krone Julieann Louise Krone (born July 24, 1963) is a retired American jockey. In 1993, she became the first (and as of June 8, 2024 only) female jockey to win a Triple Crown race when she captured the Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair. In 2000, ...

become the first female rider to win a million-dollar race when she guided Sid and Jenny Craig's undefeated

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

bred

Candy Ride Candy Ride (foaled September 27, 1999 in Argentina) is a retired Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorse who went undefeated in six starts on both turf and dirt racing surfaces in Argentina and the United States. In Argentina, he won the Gran Premio ...

to victory in track record time of 1:59:11. It would be Candy Ride's last race as injury would force him to retire prematurely. Del Mar switched its main racing surface from dirt to synthetic

Polytrack The track surface of a horse racing track refers to the material of which the track is made. There are three types of track surfaces used in modern horse racing. These are: *Turf, the most common track surface in Europe *Dirt, the most common trac ...

in 2007 and the Pacific Classic winner that year was long-shot Student Council, who was handled by veteran

Richard Migliore Richard Migliore (born March 14, 1964, in Babylon, New York) is a retired American jockey. He now works as a racing analyst for XBTV. He was nicknamed "The Mig," which is a type of Russian fighter jet, for his tenacious style of riding. He live ...

. Starting in 2008, the TVG Pacific Classic became a part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge, where the winner of the race would automatically earn a spot in the

Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States as part of the Breeders' Cup World Champion ...

. has become one of the top prizes for older horses racing in the United States each year. In 2015 Beholder became the first filly or mare to win the event. She won by lengths with a final time of 1:59.77, against an otherwise all-male field of nine other horses, including 2014

winner

Bayern Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total land area of Germany, and with over 13.08 million ...

. She won in the third-fastest winning time in the history of the race, and with the second-largest margin of victory at that time, behind the 2013 win of

Game On Dude Game On Dude (foaled April 26, 2007 in Kentucky) is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse gelding. He won fourteen graded stakes races, including eight Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes: the Santa Anita Handicap in 2011, 2013, and 2014 the on ...

. In 2018 Accelerate would win by an even greater margin of lengths. In 2016

California Chrome California Chrome (foaled February 18, 2011) is a National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, US Hall of Fame Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who won the 2014 Kentucky Derby, 2014 Preakness Stakes, Preakness Stakes, and 2016 Dubai World ...

became the first Kentucky Derby winner to win the event.

Records

Time record: * 1:59.11 -

(2003) Largest Margin * lengths - Flightline (2022) Most wins: * 2 - Tinners Way (1994, 1995) * 2 - Skimming (2000, 2001) * 2 - Richard's Kid (2009, 2010) Most wins by an owner: * 4 -

Juddmonte Farms Juddmonte Farms is a horse breeding farm, owned until his death on 12 January 2021 by Prince Khalid bin Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. National Thoroughbred Racing Association"Juddmonte Farms, Inc.", profile. Retrieved October 16, 2007. Overview J ...

(1994, 1995, 2000, 2001) * 4 - Hronis Racing (2018, 2019, 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 ...

: * 4 - Garrett K. Gomez (2000, 2001, 2005, 2008) * 4 - Mike E. Smith (2002, 2009, 2010, 2014) Most wins by a trainer: * 7 -

Bob Baffert Robert A. Baffert (born January 13, 1953) is an American racehorse trainer. He has trained two Triple Crown winners: American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018. Baffert's horses have won the Kentucky Derby six times, tying the record with ...

(1999, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2020, 2023)

Winners

''Legend:''

''Notes:''
§ Ran as part of an entry
ƒ Filly or mare
† Game On Dude's 2013 actual winning time according to "Trakus time" is 1:59.26.

References

{{reflist

External links

2020 Del Mar Media Guide

Pacific Classic details at Del Mar website

Ten Things You Should Know About the Pacific Classic at Hello Race Fans
Del Mar Racetrack Horse races in California Open middle distance horse races Grade 1 stakes races in the United States Breeders' Cup Challenge series Recurring events established in 1991 1991 establishments in California

History

Records

Winners

See also

References

External links