American Oaks

The American Oaks is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies over a distance of one and one-quarter miles on the turf held annually in late December Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, USA. The event currently offers a purse of US$300,000.

History
The inaugural running of the event was on 6 July 2002 as the American Oaks Invitational at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California with a purse of $500,000. The event was won by the British-bred filly Megahertz who was ridden by US Hall of Fame jockey Alex Solis and trained by US Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel on a disqualification of Dublino who had crossed the finishing line first. Dublino had bumped Megahertz in the stretch drive, and then the whip of jockey Kent Desormeaux hit Megahertz twice in the face, making Megahertz end the race a half-length behind.

The following year, 2003, with a purse increase to $750,000 the winner was the Irish-trained filly Dimitrova who had previously run third in the Irish 1,000 Guineas.

In 2004 for the third running of the event, American Graded Stakes Committee classified the event with the highest status possible as Grade I. As an invitational event Hollywood Park attempted to attract fillies from around the world. Entrants in the first time the event held Grade I status included fillies from Great Britain, Ireland, France, New Zealand and Japan. The Japanese filly Dance in the Mood finished second as the 7/5 favorite to the English-bred Ticker Tape. Horse racing history was made on July 3, 2005, when Japanese-bred Cesario, a granddaughter of Sunday Silence, trounced the 6/5 favored and previously undefeated Melhor Ainda, racing away with a sizable four-length margin of victory. Cesario became the first Japanese-bred and Japan-based racehorse in nearly a half-century to win a US stakes race (Hakuchikara won the Washington's Birthday Handicap at Santa Anita in 1959 upsetting US champion Round Table). Cesario's 2005 victory win was big news in Japan, as Japanese media swarmed Cesario and her rider, Yuichi Fukunaga in the winner's circle as the Japanese flag waved over an American holiday weekend. Before the race, Japan TV broadcast a one-hour-long TV show live from Hollywood Park about Cesario and her run at the American Oaks.

In the 2006 running of the event Arindel Farms's Wait A While sent off as the 3/1 third choice in a field of eight, drew off to an impressive $1 1/4$-length victory over 8-5 favorite Asahi Rising (JPN) and Arravale (CAN) in the invitational's fifth running. Trained by Eclipse Award winner Todd Pletcher, Wait A While was making just her second career start on the turf. Jockey Garrett Gomez stalked the early pace set by Attima (GB) and made a sweeping three-wide move around the second turn, clearing the field under mild left-handed urging. The connections had to wait several minutes for the race to be declared official after Alex Bisono, rider of Foxysox, alleged interference against Wait a While. Bisono claimed that Wait a While forced him to take up near the quarter-pole as the winner was making her sweeping move to the front of the pack. However, stewards disallowed it, saying Attima caused the traffic problem.

By 2009 was the last running of the event as an Invitational. In 2010 purse money of the event was slashed to $250,000.

The 2011 running of the event produced a dead-heat between Nereid and Cambina which was the first in a Grade I at Hollywood Park since the Richard Mandella-trained pair of Beautiful Melody and Reluctant Guest finished on even terms in the Beverly Hills Handicap on June 30, 1990. It was also the first Grade I victory for both fillies.

With the closure of Hollywood Park Racetrack in 2013 the event was moved to Santa Anita Racetrack.

In 2014 and 2015 the event was scheduled in May and since 2016 in December usually on opening day of the Santa Anita Park Winter Meeting.

The race was originally run at $4 1/2$ miles but in 2016 was cut back to $1 1/4$ miles to prevent runners from having to race down the Santa Anita hillside turf course and cross the dirt main track. It returned to $1 1/8$ miles in 2017.

In 2021 the race was transferred from the turf surface to dirt for first time in the history of its runnings, which automatically downgraded the status of the race from a Grade I event to a Grade II. However, after review the Grade I status was reinstated.

Records
Speed record:
 * $1 1/4$ miles: 1:59.03  – Cesario (JPN) (2005)

Margins:
 * $1 1/4$ lengths – 	Wait A While (2006)

Most wins by a jockey:
 * 3 – Kent Desormeaux (2004, 2009, 2016)
 * 3 – Mike E. Smith (2012, 2013, 2017)

Most wins by a trainer:
 * 2 – Todd Pletcher (2006, 2007)
 * 2 – John Shirreffs (2010, 2011)
 * 2 – Richard Baltas (2015, 2019)
 * 2 – Chad C. Brown (2018, 2020)

Most wins by an owner :
 * 2 - Klaravich Stables (2018, 2020)
 * 2 - Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners (2021, 2023)

Winners
Legend: Notes: † In the 2002 inaugural running, Dublino was first past the post but was disqualified for interference in the straight and Megahertz (GB) was declared the winner.