Red Carpet Stakes
| Grade III race | |
| Location | Del Mar Racetrack relocated from the now closed Hollywood Park Racetrack Inglewood, California, United States |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1968 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred - Flat racing |
| Website | [1] |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1+1⁄4 miles |
| Surface | Turf |
| Track | Left-handed |
| Qualification | Fillies & Mares, 3-years-old & up |
| Weight | Assigned |
| Purse | $100,000 |
The Red Carpet Handicap (known until 2013 as the Beverly Hills Handicap) is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually (as of 2014) during Del Mar racetrack's fall meet which has been created to accommodate the overflow of established races from closing of Hollywood Park. The Grade II is run over a distance of 1+1⁄4 miles on turf, and is open to fillies and mares three years of age and older.
A Grade I race since 1988, in 2003 The American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association amended its status to a Grade II event. Beginning in 2010 it is now a Grade IIIT.
Of note, is that Hall of Fame jockey Bill Shoemaker, who retired from riding in 1990, earned his first Grade I win as a trainer in the 1991 edition of the Beverly Hills Handicap with the filly, Alcando.
Since the inaugural running in 1968, the Beverly Hills Handicap has been contested at various distances:
- 1+3⁄8 miles : 1968-1975
- 1+1⁄8 miles : 1976-1985, 1987-1995
- 1+1⁄4 miles : 1986, 1996-present
Records
Speed record: (at current distance of 1+1⁄4 miles)
- 1:58.56 - Astra (2002)
Most wins:
- 2 - La Zanzara (1974, 1975)
- 2 - Swingtime (1977, 1978)
- 2 - Flawlessly (1992, 1993)
- 2 - Astra (2001, 2002)
- 2 - Black Mamba (NZ) (2008, 2009)
Most wins by a jockey:
- 6 - Chris McCarron (1979, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996)
Most wins by a trainer:
- 10 - Charlie Whittingham (1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993)