The Very One 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 ...

run annually at

Pimlico Race Course Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of O ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

. Open to fillies and mares three years old and up, it is contested over a distance of five furlongs on

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'', ...

. The Very One Stakes is run on the third Friday of May each year on the

Black-Eyed Susan Stakes The George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (known as the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes from 1952 through 2019 and first run as the Pimlico Oaks) is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies run over a distance of mile ...

under card. The race is run on the "Filly Friday" of Preakness Stakes weekend. The race was not run between 1994 and 2000. The first year the race was run in 1993, it was contested at miles on the main track at "Old Hilltop" on a dirt surface; since that time it has been run at a distance of five furlongs and on the turf. The Very One Stakes attracts female turf sprinters. It was named in honor of The Very One, one of the best race mares in training during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Purchased out of the 1977 two-year-old in training sale at Timonium for $22,000, she became a millionaire, racing in 71 times with a record of 22 wins, 12 second-place finishes and 18 third-place finishes and earnings of $1,030,120. Her most famous wins came in the grade one

Santa Barbara Handicap The Santa Barbara Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. A Listed event open to fillies and mares, age four and older, it is contested of turf over a distance of one a ...

in California and the grade two

Dixie Stakes The Dinner Party Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in mid-May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the eighth-oldest graded stakes race in the United States and the oldest stakes race in Maryland and all o ...

, over the best turf males in the country in 1979.2007 Maryland Jockey Club Media Guide, page 173 on March 3, 2007. The Very One Stakes is the lead off leg of the Mid Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships Fillies and Mares Sprint Turf Division or MATCh Races. MATCh is a series of five races in five separate thoroughbred divisions run throughout four Mid-Atlantic States including;

and

Laurel Park Racecourse Laurel Park, formerly Laurel Race Course, is an American thoroughbred racetrack located just outside Laurel, Maryland which opened in 1911. The track is miles in circumference. Its name was changed to "Laurel Race Course" for several decades un ...

in Maryland;

Delaware Park Racetrack Delaware Park (also known as ''DelPark'') is an American Thoroughbred horse racing track, casino, and golf course in Stanton, Delaware. It is located just outside the city of Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington, and about 30 miles from Philadelphia ...

in Delaware;

Parx Parx Casino and Racing (formerly Philadelphia Park Racetrack and Casino) is a Thoroughbred horse racing venue and the largest casino gaming complex in Pennsylvania. Parx is located in Bensalem Township in Bucks County, northeast of the city of ...

Philadelphia Park Parx Casino and Racing (formerly Philadelphia Park Racetrack and Casino) is a Thoroughbred horse racing venue and the largest casino gaming complex in Pennsylvania. Parx is located in Bensalem Township in Bucks County, northeast of the city of Ph ...

and

Presque Isle Downs Presque Isle Downs & Casino is a casino and horse racing track near Erie, Pennsylvania, owned and operated by Churchill Downs Inc. History The developer, MTR Gaming Group, broke ground in October 2005 for the new facility, which opened on Febru ...

in Pennsylvania and

Monmouth Park Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey, Oceanport, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease ...

in New Jersey.

Records

Speed record: * 5 furlongs - 55.60 - Unbridled Sidney (2007) 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 ...

: * 2 - Ramon Dominguez (2001 & 2002) * 2 -

Edgar Prado Edgar S. Prado (born June 12, 1967) is a retired Peruvian jockey in thoroughbred horse racing. Prado's big break came in 1997 when he won 536 races, making him the fourth rider in history to win 500 races in one year. Much of that success was ga ...

(1993 & 2005) * 2 -

Javier Castellano Javier Castellano (born October 23, 1977) is a Venezuelan jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. Castellano won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey four times in a row from 2013 to 2016. In 2023 he won two legs of the American Tripl ...

(2006, 2017) Most wins by a trainer: * 3 - Kathleen DeMasi (2002, 2004, 2017) Most wins by an owner: * 2 -

Darley Stables Darley Racing is a thoroughbred horse racing operations controlled by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai and Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates. It was launched in 1981. Horses owned include Singspiel ...

(2003 & 2009)

Winners of The Very One Stakes since 1993

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Very One Stakes Turf races in the United States 1993 establishments in Maryland Ungraded stakes races in the United States Sports competitions in Baltimore Pimlico Race Course Horse races in Maryland Horse races established in 1993

Records

Winners of The Very One Stakes since 1993

See also

References