Hollywood Derby

Hollywood Derby
Grade I race
Location	Del Mar racetrack as of 2014 formerly Hollywood Park Racetrack
Inaugurated	1938
Race type	Thoroughbred - Flat racing
Website	Hollywood Park Racetrack
Race information
Distance	1 1⁄8 (9 furlongs) formerly 1¼ miles (10 furlongs)
Track	Turf, left-handed
Qualification	Three-year-olds
Weight	122 lbs. (allowances)
Purse	$300,000

The Hollywood Derby is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late November/early December. Now held at Del Mar racetrack in San Diego, California, until 2014, it was held at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. The race is open to horses aged three and contested at a mile and an eighth on turf. It currently offers a purse of $300,000.

Inaugurated in 1938, the race has been a Grade I event since 1973. There was no race from 1942 through 1944 as a result of World War II and it was not run in 2005 as a safety precaution after new grass had been planted on the turf course. It was contested in two divisions from 1981 through 1987.

Known as the Westerner Stakes from 1948-1958, the race was held at Santa Anita Park in 1949 after a fire destroyed the Hollywood Park grandstand and clubhouse. When Hollywood Park closed in December 2013, the race was transferred to Del Mar. Due to the layout of the turf course at Del Mar, the race was shortened to 1⅛ miles.^[1]

Only four fillies have ever won the race: Busher (1945), Honeymoon (1946), A Gleam (1952) Royal Heroine (1983)^[2]

The Hollywood Derby has been contested at various distances on both dirt and turf:

• 1⅛ miles on dirt : 1945, 1950, 1976-1980
• 1¼ miles on dirt : 1938-1941, 1946-1949, 1951-1972
• 1½ miles on turf : 1973-1975
• 1⅛ miles on turf : 1981-2002
• 1¼ miles on turf : 2003 to 2013
• 1⅛ miles on turf: 2014 to present

Records

Speed record:

• 1:59.35 - Showing Up (2006) (at current distance of 1¼ miles on turf)
• 1:45.82 - Super Quercus (1999) (at previous distance of 1⅛ miles on turf)

Most wins by a jockey:

• 8 - Bill Shoemaker (1951, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1974, 1976, 1982, 1986)

Most wins by a trainer:

• 4 - Charlie Whittingham (1967, 1969, 1986, 1989)

Winners of the Hollywood Derby since 1989

* In 2001, Designed for Luck won but was disqualified for drifting out in the stretch and was set back to fifth.

Earlier winners

References

• The Hollywood Derby at the NTRA
• The Hollywood Derby at the Pedigree Query