# Vernon O. Underwood Stakes

The Vernon O. Underwood Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. Raced in late November, the Grade III event is open to horses age three and older. It is contested on Cushion Track synthetic dirt at a distance of six furlongs.
Inaugurated as the National Sprint Championship Stakes, in 1990 the name was changed to honor Vernon O. Underwood (1907–1990), a California businessman. After Hollywood Park closed, the race is run as the Midnight Lute Stakes at Santa Anita Park.
In 2001, H. Eugene Reed's eight-year-old gelding Men's Exclusive became the first back-to-back winner of the race and its oldest winner.
The race was run in two divisions in 1981, 1982, 1984,1986, and in 2016

## Records

Speed record:
* 1:07.79 - Sailors Sunset (2006) (new track record on Cushion Track)
Most wins:
* 2 - Men's Exclusive (2000, 2001)
Most wins by a trainer:
* 3 - John W. Sadler (1989, 1990, 2010)

## Winners since 1989

| Year | Winner | Age | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Time |
| 2017 | Silent Bird | 5 | Kent Desormeax | Mark Glatt | Norman Stables, LLC | 1:09.39 |
| 2016 | Solid Wager,ST Joe Bay (Dead Heat) | 5,4 | Kent Desormeax, Victor Esponoza | Peter Miller | Barber, Gary and Cecil and Stanford Stable,Al Tamira Racing Stable and David A. Bernsen | 1:15.03 |
| 2016 | San Onofre | 6 | Alex Solis | Karen Headley | Matson Racing | 1:14.82 |
| 2014 | Distinctiv Passion | 4 | Mike E Smith | Jeff Bonde | Peter Redekop B. C., Ltd. | 1:14.55 |
| 2013 | Majestic Stride | 4 | Edwin Maldonado | Jeff Bonde | Brown/Klein/Lebherz | 1:08.87 |
| 2012 | Smiling Tiger | 5 | Rafael Bejarano | Jeff Bonde | Alan Klein/Philip Lebherz | 1:11.24 |
| 2011 | Pacific Ocean | 4 | Joel Rosario | Mike Mitchell | JMJ Racing Stable | 1:08.48 |
| 2010 | Cost of Freedom | 7 | Joe Talamo | John W. Sadler | Gary & Cecil Barber | 1:08.46 |
| 2009 | Kinsale King | 4 | Martin Garcia | Carl O'Callaghan | Patrick Sheehy | 1:09.67 |
| 2008 | Johnny Eves | 4 | Garrett Gomez | Jay M. Robbins | Sharon Hilliard | 1:07.90 |
| 2007 | Bushwacker | 5 | Joseph Talamo | William L. Currin | Currin & Alvin Eisman | 1:08.47 |
| 2006 | Sailors Sunset | 3 | Jon Court | Marcelo Polanco | Everest stables | 1:07.79 |
| 2005 | Bordonaro | 4 | Pat Valenzuela | William B. Spawr | F. Carrillo & D. Casse | 1:08.11 |
| 2004 | Taste of Paradise | 5 | Jose Valdivia, Jr. | Gary Mandella | David Bloom | 1:08.04 |
| 2003 | Watchem Smokey | 3 | Julie Krone | Robert J. Frankel | Edmund A. Gann | 1:08.93 |
| 2002 | Debonair Joe | 3 | Julie Krone | Juan Pablo Silva | Lynne H. Ristad | 1:09:17 |
| 2001 | Men's Exclusive | 8 | Laffit Pincay, Jr. | Wesley A. Ward | H. Eugene Reed | 1:09.04 |
| 2000 | Men's Exclusive | 7 | Laffit Pincay, Jr. | Wesley A. Ward | H. Eugene Reed | 1:09.02 |
| 1999 | Five Star Day | 3 | Alex Solis | C. Beau Greely | Columbine Stable | 1:09.91 |
| 1998 | Love That Jazz | 4 | Kent Desormeaux | Neil Drysdale | Irving & Marge Cowan | 1:08.79 |
| 1997 | Tower Full | 5 | Corey Nakatani | Craig Dollase | Moon S. Han | 1:08.17 |
| 1996 | Paying Dues | 4 | Pat Day | Clifford Sise, Jr. | Ballantyne, Owen & Welty | 1:08.24 |
| 1995 | Powis Castle | 4 | Gary Stevens | Rodney Rash | Vistas Stables | 1:08.40 |
| 1994 | Wekiva Springs | 3 | Kent Desormeaux | Robert Hess, Jr. | Dizney & English | 1:08.37 |
| 1993 | Meafara | 4 | Gary Stevens | Gary F. Jones | Frank Muench | 1:10.01 |
| 1992 | Gundaghia | 5 | Gary Stevens | Bob Baffert | Goodman & Kieckhefer | 1:09.33 |
| 1991 | Individualist | 4 | Kent Desormeaux | David Hofmans | Golden Eagle Farm | 1:08.86 |
| 1990 | Frost Free | 5 | Chris McCarron | John W. Sadler | Triple Dot Dash Stable & Vandervoort | 1:08.20 |
| 1989 | Olympic Prospect | 5 | Alex Solis | John W. Sadler | Alsdorf, Opas & Sinatra | 1:08.80 |

## Earlier winners

* 1988 - Gallant Sailor
* 1987 - Hilco Scamper
* 1986 - Bedside Promise
* 1986 - Nasib
* 1985 - Pancho Villa
* 1984 - Fifty Six In a Row
* 1984 - Lovlier Linda
* 1983 - Fighting Fit
* 1982 - Mad Key
* 1982 - Unpredictable
* 1981 - Shanekite
* 1981 - Smokite