The John C. Mabee Stakes is an American

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

contested in early August 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 ...

. It is run 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'', ...

for

fillies A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, th ...

and

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equidae, equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more th ...

s, age three or older, at a distance of one and one-eighth miles. Downgraded to 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 ...

stakes in 2010, the John C. Mabee Handicap currently offers a purse of $200,000. Part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series, the winner of the 2010 race automatically qualifies for the

Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf The Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for fillies and mares, three years old and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championsh ...

. The race is named in honor of John C. Mabee (1921-2002), a three-time winner of the

Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor for breeders. Created in 1971, it is part of the Eclipse Awards program and is awarded annually. Its Canadian counterpart is the Sovereign Award for Outstanding Br ...

as owner of Golden Eagle Farm and someone the ''New York Times Company's'' subsidiary ''About.com'' calls "a California racing icon." Through 2001 the race was known as the Ramona Handicap, in honor of

Ramona, California Ramona is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California. The population was 21,468 at the 2020 census, up from 20,292 at the 2010 census. The name ''Ramona'' also refers to an unincorporated community of San Diego (with so ...

where Mabee's breeding farm was located, and as the John C. Mabee Ramona Handicap in 2002. It was first run in 1945 on dirt at a distance of one mile (8 furlongs), it was not contested again until 1959 when the distance was set at its current miles (9 furlongs). It was . It was run in two divisions in 1965, 1966, 1969 and was switched to the

course in 1970. In winning the 1971 race, Street Dancer set a new Del Mar course record then won again in 1972, breaking her own record.

Records

Speed record: * 1:46.34 Precious Kitten (2007) Most wins: * 3 -

Flawlessly Flawlessly (1988–2002) was an American Thoroughbred race horse bred by Harbor View Farm. She was a daughter of 1978 Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing champion Affirmed and La Confidence by Nijinsky II. At two, she trained under Dick Dutrow ...

(1992, 1993, 1994) Most wins by an owner: * 3 -

Harbor View Farm Louis Elwood Wolfson (January 28, 1912 – December 30, 2007) was an American financier, a convicted felon, and one of the first modern corporate raiders, labeled by ''Time'' as such in a 1956 article.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 -

Bill Shoemaker William Lee Shoemaker (August 19, 1931 – October 12, 2003) was an American jockey, considered one of the greatest. For 29 years he held the world record for the most professional jockey victories. Early life Referred to as "Bill", "Willie," ...

(1974, 1975, 1980, 1983, 1985) * 5 -

Corey Nakatani Corey S. Nakatani (born October 21, 1970) is a retired American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He has won 3,909 races in his career including the Kentucky Oaks twice and the Strub Stakes four times. He has won ten races in the Bre ...

(1995, 1996, 1998, 2006, 2012) * 5 -

Flavien Prat Flavien Prat (born August 4, 1992, in Melun, Seine-et-Marne, France) is a French jockey in Thoroughbred racing who was a Champion Apprentice Jockey and Group 1 race winner in France before moving full-time to the United States in 2015 where he ha ...

(2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) Most wins by a trainer: * 9 - Charlie Whittingham (1968, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994)

Winners

References

The John C. Mabee Handicap at Pedigree Query

The John C. Mabee Handicap at the NTRA
{dead link, date=April 2017 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Del Mar Racetrack Horse races in California Grade 2 stakes races in the United States Mile category horse races for fillies and mares Turf races in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1945