The Adoration Stakes is a discontinued American Thoroughbred horse race that was run annually during May at Santa Anita Park. The event was open to fillies and mares, age three and up, willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt. The purse was $100,000. The event lost its Grade III classification and the last running of the event was in 2018.

History

The race was founded in 1952 as the Milady Handicap at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. Usually run on the dirt, the Milady was run on an all-weather artificial dirt surface from 2007 to 2013. The race was renamed as the Marjorie L. Everett Handicap in 2012 to honor Marjorie L. Evereett, former chairman, president and CEO of Hollywood Park who died on March 23, 2012. When Hollywood Park was closed at the end of 2013, the race was moved to Santa Anita and renamed as the Adoration Stakes. The race was also changed from a handicap to allowance conditions, in which horses receive a specified reduction in weight if they satisfy certain conditions.^[1]

It was a Grade I race from 1987 through 2004, during which years it was won by several Hall of Fame inductees including Bayakoa, Paseana and Azeri. Zenyatta won the race in both 2008 and 2009 as part of her 19 race win streak. The Milady was a Grade II event from 1974 (when grading was introduced) to 1986 and from 2005 to 2013. In 2014, it was stepped down to a Grade III event.^[1]

The race has been run at a variety of distances:^[2]

• 1+1⁄16 miles – 1967–1969, 1973–1984, 1986 to present
• 1 mile – 1954, 1958–1966, 1970–1972, 1985
• 7 furlongs – 1952-1953
• 6 furlongs – 1955-1957

Records

Speed Record:

• Image of Reality (1980) - 1:401⁄5^[2]

Most wins:

• 2 - A Gleam (1952, 1953)
• 2 - Adored (1984, 1985)
• 2 - Bayakoa (1989, 1990)
• 2 - Paseana (1992, 1993)
• 2 - Azeri (2002, 2003)
• 2 - Zenyatta (2008, 2009)
• 2 - Beholder (2015, 2016)

Winners since 1989

Earlier winners