Manila Stakes

The Manila Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds over a distance of one mile on the turf scheduled annually in early July at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The current purse is $250,000.

History
The event is named after the US Hall of Famer Manila, the 1986 U.S. Champion Older Male Horse who won the 1986 Breeders' Cup Turf at Churchill Downs.

The event was inaugurated on June 28, 2014, and run over a distance of one mile and was won by R. Lee Lewis's Cabo Cat. Cabo Cat started at odds of 8/1 was ridden by jockey Joe Bravo who settled near the rear from the gate, was four-wide into the lane, rallied down the stretch while widest and held off Long On Value in the final stages to win by a length in a time of 1:33.57.

In 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, NYRA did not schedule the event in their updated and shortened spring-summer meeting.

Three winners of this event have gone on and have won Grade I events. In 2023 the event was upgraded by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to a Grade III.

In 2024 the event was moved to Aqueduct Racetrack due to infield tunnel and redevelopment work at Belmont Park.

Records
Speed record
 * 1 mile: 1:31.56 – Win Win Win (2019)

Margins
 * $3 1/2$ lengths – Up the Ante (2018)

Most wins by a jockey
 * 2 – John R. Velazquez (2016, 2023)

Most wins by a trainer
 * No trainer has won the event more than once

Most wins by an owner
 * No owner has won the event more than once