The Ballerina Handicap is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares that are three years old or older over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt track scheduled annually in August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The event currently carries a purse of $500,000.
The inaugural running of the Ballerina Stakes was 20 August 1979 and was won by the Ogden Phipps-owned three-year-old filly Blitey, who was ridden by the US Hall of Fame jockey ÃÂngel Cordero Jr. on a muddy track in a time of 1:23. The race is named for Howell E. Jackson's filly, Ballerina, who won the 1954 inaugural running of the Maskette Stakes, run today as the Grade I Go For Wand Handicap.
In 1981 the event was classified as Grade III, upgraded to Grade II in 1984 and to Grade I in 1988. The sudden rise in stature of the event was due to the quality of runners who won this event and continued to win important Grade I races. In particular the winner of the second running in 1980 was the 1979 US Champion Three-Year-Old Filly Davona Dale, the 1983 winner Ambassador of Luck who went onto become the US Champion Older Dirt Female Horse and Lady's Secret, the 1985 winner as a three-year-old, who in the following year would win the Breeders' Cup Distaff.
The only dual winner of the event, Shine Again failed by a nose to win a third time as a six-year-old when she was beaten by the 13-1 outsider Harmony Lodge in 2003.
The event continues to be a part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series with the winner of the Ballerina Stakes automatically qualifying for the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.
Speed record:
Margins:
Most wins:
Most wins by a jockey:
Most wins by a trainer:
Most wins by an owner:
Notes: <br/> ç Ran as an entry
List of American and Canadian Graded races