# Las Virgenes Stakes

The Las Virgenes Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies over the distance of one mile on the dirt scheduled annually in late January or early February at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The event currently carries a purse of $100,000.

## History

The event was named after the Rancho Las Virgenes land grant in the Santa Monica Mountains and Simi Hills. The event was inaugurated on 26 February 1983 with Saucy Bobbie victorious, who was ridden by US Hall of Fame jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. and trained by US Hall of Fame trainer Lazaro S. Barrera in a time of 1:361⁄5.
The event was scheduled in Southern California as a natural progression for three-year-old fillies with the Santa Ynez Stakes over 7 furlongs in January, Las Virgenes Stakes over one mile in February and the Santa Susana Stakes, later renamed as the Santa Anita Oaks over 1+1⁄16 miles in March.
Althea, winner of the second running in 1984 later that spring became the first filly to win the Arkansas Derby.
The event was upgraded to Grade III in 1985. The winner that year was Fran's Valentine who was first over the line in her first race, the inaugural 1984 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Hollywood Park but was disqualified and place tenth. With the obvious quality of the runners in 1987 the event was upgraded to Grade II and the following year in 1988 the event reached Grade I status.
The event has produced an outstanding number of fillies that have gone on to be champions both in their sophomore year and even later to become Champions winning Breeders' Cup events.
These include Goodbye Halo and Lite Light who went on to win the Kentucky Oaks and Coaching Club American Oaks. Serena's Song went on to defeat colts in the Jim Beam Stakes and Haskell Invitational Handicap en route to becoming US Champion Three-Year-Old Filly for 1995. The 2000 winner Surfside defeated older horses in the Grade II Clark Handicap also capturing US Champion Three-Year-Old Filly honors. The 2007 winner Rags to Riches became a US Classic winner when she won the Belmont Stakes and going on to capture US Champion Three-Year-Old Filly honors. The US Champion Two-Year-Old Filly Champion Beholder won this race and went on to win the 2013 Breeders' Cup Distaff and was named US Champion Three-Year-Old Filly that year.
In 2016 the event was downgraded to Grade II and again in 2021 to Grade III.
The event is part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks.

## Records

Speed record:
* 1:34.86 – Zazu (2011)
Margins:
* 13 lengths – Adare Manor (2022)
Most wins by a jockey:
* 4 – Corey Nakatani (1991, 1995, 1997, 2005)
* 4 – Gary Stevens (1987, 1992, 1993, 2014)
Most wins by a trainer:
* 9 – Bob Baffert (1999, 2003, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)
Most wins by an owner:
* 3 – Robert & Beverly Lewis (1995, 2003, 2004)
* 3 – Spendthrift Farm (2013, 2015, 2021)
* 3 – Michael Lund Peterson (2022, 2023, 2024)
Las Virgenes Stakes – Santa Anita Oaks double:
* Althea †(1984), Fran's Valentine †(1985), Timely Assertion (1987), Lite Light (1991), Lakeway (1994), Serena's Song (1995), Antespend (1996), Sharp Cat (1997), Excellent Meeting (1999), Surfside (2000), Golden Ballet (2001), You (2002), Composure (2003), Balance (2006), Rags to Riches (2007), Stardom Bound (2009), Beholder (2013), Fashion Plate (2014), Songbird (2016), Bellafina (2019)
Notes:
† Santa Anita Oaks was known as the Santa Susana Stakes.

## Winners

| Year | Winner | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Distance | Time | Purse | Grade |
| 2024 | Kinza | Juan J. Hernandez | Bob Baffert | Michael Lund Peterson | 1 mile | 1:37.03 | $100,000 | III |
| 2023 | Faiza | Ramon Vazquez | Bob Baffert | Michael Lund Peterson | 1 mile | 1:38.46 | $200,500 | III |
| 2022 | Adare Manor | John Velazquez | Bob Baffert | Michael Lund Peterson | 1 mile | 1:37:11 | $196,000 | III |
| 2021 | Moonlight d'Oro | Flavien Prat | Richard E. Mandella | MyRacehorse & Spendthrift Farm | 1 mile | 1:38:01 | $200,000 | III |
| 2020 | Venetian Harbor | Flavien Prat | Richard Baltas | Ciaglia Racing, Highland Yard, River Oak Farm & Domenic Savides | 1 mile | 1:37.51 | $200,000 | II |
| 2019 | Bellafina | Flavien Prat | Simon Callaghan | Kaleem Shah | 1 mile | 1:35.99 | $200,000 | II |
| 2018 | Dream Tree | Drayden Van Dyke | Bob Baffert | Phoenix Thoroughbred | 1 mile | 1:39.45 | $200,345 | II |
| 2017 | Unique Bella | Mike E. Smith | Jerry Hollendorfer | Don Alberto Stable | 1 mile | 1:35.66 | $196,000 | II |
| 2016 | Songbird | Mike E. Smith | Jerry Hollendorfer | Fox Hill Farms | 1 mile | 1:36.84 | $300,345 | II |
| 2015 | Callback | Martin Garcia | Bob Baffert | Spendthrift Farm | 1 mile | 1:36.92 | $301,000 | I |
| 2014 | Fashion Plate | Gary L. Stevens | Simon Callaghan | Arnold Zetcher & Michael Tabor | 1 mile | 1:37.22 | $300,000 | I |
| 2013 | Beholder | Garrett K. Gomez | Richard E. Mandella | Spendthrift Farm | 1 mile | 1:36.14 | $250,750 | I |
| 2012 | Eden's Moon | Martin Garcia | Bob Baffert | Kaleem Shah | 1 mile | 1:35.27 | $250,000 | I |
| 2011 | Zazu | Joel Rosario | John W. Sadler | Ann & Jerry Moss | 1 mile | 1:34.86 | $250,000 | I |
| 2010 | Blind Luck | Rafael Bejarano | Jerry Hollendorfer | Mark DeDomenico, John Carver & Jerry Hollendorfer | 1 mile | 1:35.98 | $250,000 | I |
| 2009 | Stardom Bound | Mike E. Smith | Robert J. Frankel | IEAH Stables, Paul Pompa Jr., Michael Dubb & Golden Goose Ent. | 1 mile | 1:36.43 | $300,000 | I |
| 2008 | Golden Doc A | Rafael Bejarano | Barry Abrams | Ron McCauley | 1 mile | 1:35.86 | $250,000 | I |
| 2007 | Rags to Riches | Garrett K. Gomez | Michael W. McCarthy | Derrick Smith & Michael Tabor | 1 mile | 1:37.85 | $250,000 | I |
| 2006 | Balance | Victor Espinoza | David E. Hofmans | Amerman Racing | 1 mile | 1:36.54 | $250,000 | I |
| 2005 | Sharp Lisa | Corey Nakatani | Doug F. O'Neill | J. Paul Reddam, Suarez Racing & Mark Schlesinger | 1 mile | 1:35.64 | $250,000 | I |
| 2004 | A. P. Adventure | Alex O. Solis | Wallace Dollase | Robert & Beverly Lewis | 1 mile | 1:36.50 | $250,000 | I |
| 2003 | Composure | Jerry D. Bailey | Bob Baffert | Robert & Beverly Lewis | 1 mile | 1:36.13 | $200,000 | I |
| 2002 | You | Jerry D. Bailey | Robert J. Frankel | Edmund A. Gann | 1 mile | 1:38.84 | $200,000 | I |
| 2001 | Golden Ballet | Chris McCarron | Jenine Sahadi | Team Valor & Heiligbrodt Racing Stable | 1 mile | 1:36.89 | $200,000 | I |
| 2000 | Surfside | Pat Day | D. Wayne Lukas | Overbrook Farm | 1 mile | 1:37.00 | $196,000 | I |
| 1999 | Excellent Meeting | Kent J. Desormeaux | Bob Baffert | Golden Eagle Farm | 1 mile | 1:35.35 | $200,000 | I |
| 1998 | Keeper Hill | David R. Flores | Robert J. Frankel | Dr. John A. Chandler | 1 mile | 1:36.94 | $200,000 | I |
| 1997 | Sharp Cat | Corey Nakatani | D. Wayne Lukas | The Thoroughbred Corp. | 1 mile | 1:35.52 | $158,800 | I |
| 1996 | Antespend | Chris Antley | Ron McAnally | Jack Kent Cooke | 1 mile | 1:36.45 | $156,900 | I |
| 1995 | Serena's Song | Corey Nakatani | D. Wayne Lukas | Robert & Beverly Lewis | 1 mile | 1:35.46 | $160,200 | I |
| 1994 | Lakeway | Kent J. Desormeaux | Gary F. Jones | Mike Rutherford | 1 mile | 1:35.14 | $161,100 | I |
| 1993 | Likeable Style | Gary L. Stevens | Richard E. Mandella | Golden Eagle Farm | 1 mile | 1:36.67 | $158,500 | I |
| 1992 | Magical Maiden | Gary L. Stevens | Warren Stute | Clement L. Hirsch | 1 mile | 1:36.23 | $164,300 | I |
| 1991 | Lite Light | Corey Nakatani | Henry Moreno | Jack L. Finley | 1 mile | 1:35.60 | $161,300 | I |
| 1990 | Cheval Volant | Alex O. Solis | Kenneth J. Jumps | Kenneth J. Jumps, Steve Shapiro, David Stark & Bill Stratton | 1 mile | 1:38.00 | $134,400 | I |
| 1989 | Kool Arrival | Laffit Pincay Jr. | Melvin F. Stute | John Coelho, Phillip Fields & Peter Valenti | 1 mile | 1:36.20 | $133,450 | I |
| 1988 | Goodbye Halo | Jorge Velasquez | Charles E. Whittingham | Arthur B. Hancock III | 1 mile | 1:36.80 | $126,500 | I |
| 1987 | Timely Assertion | Gary L. Stevens | Henry Moreno | George Aubin | 1 mile | 1:36.80 | $126,600 | II |
| 1986 | Life At The Top | Rafael Q. Meza | D. Wayne Lukas | Lloyd R. French Jr. & Eugene V. Klein | 1 mile | 1:36.20 | $131,050 | III |
| 1985 | Fran's Valentine | Pat Valenzuela | Joseph Manzi | Green Thumb Farm Stable | 1 mile | 1:36.40 | $133,650 | III |
| 1984 | Althea | Laffit Pincay Jr. | D. Wayne Lukas | David Aykroyd, Helen Alexander & Helen Groves | 1 mile | 1:37.00 | $86,600 | Listed |
| 1983 | Saucy Bobbie | Laffit Pincay Jr. | Laz Barrera | Leslie Combs II & Francis Kernan | 1 mile | 1:36.20 | $83,850 | |
Legend:
 All Weather Track  Dirt