The Sham Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...

 held annually at Santa Anita Park

Santa Anita Park

Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...

 in Arcadia, California

Arcadia, California

Arcadia is an affluent city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and located approximately northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains....

. The Sham Stakes is open to three-year-olds and is held at one and one-eighth miles on the dirt. An official prep race for the Kentucky Derby

Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...

, the Grade III

Graded stakes race

A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...

 event is run in early March and offers a purse of $200,000.

Inaugurated in 2001, the Sham Stakes is named for the racehorse Sham

Sham (horse)

Sham , an American thoroughbred race horse, was one of the fastest horses of the 20th century, but was overshadowed by his larger-than-life peer and half-cousin, Secretariat. He was a dark seal brown in color. While racing, he wore green and yellow blinkers...

, winner of the 1973 Santa Anita Derby

Santa Anita Derby

The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California and carries a purse of $1 million. Inaugurated in 1935, it is considered the most important West Coast stepping-stone to the Kentucky Derby...

 and remembered for his battles with the great Secretariat

Secretariat (horse)

Secretariat was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, that in 1973 became the first U.S. Triple Crown champion in 25 years, setting new race records in two of the three events in the Series—the Kentucky Derby , and the Belmont Stakes —records that still stand today.Secretariat was sired by Bold...

 in that year's U.S. Triple Crown Races

Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing

The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a Thoroughbred racehorse...

.

Records

Speed record:

• 1:47.86 - The Pamplemousse
  The Pamplemousse
  The Pamplemousse is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was a contender for the 2009 Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown but had to withdraw due to injury. His regular jockey is Alex Solis.-Racing Career:...
  
   (2009) (1 1/8m)
• 1:40.38 - Tapizar (2011) (At current distance of 1 1/16m)

Most wins by a jockey

Jockey

A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...

:

• 3 - Victor Espinoza
  Victor Espinoza
  Victor Espinoza is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. He began riding in his native Mexico and earned his first win there in 1992 before moving the following year to compete at racetracks in California....
  
   (2001, 2005, 2006)

Most wins by a trainer

Horse trainer

In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...

:

• 2 - Bob Baffert
  Bob Baffert
  Robert A. "Bob" Baffert is an American horse owner and trainer, whose horses have won three Kentucky Derbies, five Preakness Stakes, one Belmont Stakes and two Kentucky Oaks. He graduated from the University of Arizona's with a Bachelor of Science degree. -Early career:Bob Baffert began his...
  
   (2001, 2006)

Most wins by an owner:

• No owner has won this race more than once

Winners of the Sham Stakes

Year	Winner	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
2011	Tapizar	Garrett K. Gomez Garrett K. Gomez Garrett Keith Gomez is an American thoroughbred jockey.-Early career:Gomez learned to ride by watching his father, Louie, who was a jockey at many tracks in the Southwest United States...	Steve Asmussen Steve Asmussen Steven Mark Asmussen is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Born into a horse racing family, his parents, Keith and Marilyn "Sis" Asmussen, are both trainers who operate El Primero Training Center off the Mines Road in Laredo, the seat of Webb County in south Texas...	Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC	1:40.38
2010	Alphie's Bet	Alex Solis Alex Solis Alex O. Solis is a jockey based in the United States. He currently lives in Glendora, California and rides predominantly in Southern California...	Alexis Barba Alexis Barba Alexis Barba is the horse trainer for Make Music For Me, a thoroughbred horse which came in 4th in the 2010 Kentucky Derby. Make Music For Me is known to have late speed which he used to improve from 20th position to finish 4th in the Kentucky Derby. This ability to close was displayed earlier in...	Peter Johnson Sr	1:48.72
2009	The Pamplemousse The Pamplemousse The Pamplemousse is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was a contender for the 2009 Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown but had to withdraw due to injury. His regular jockey is Alex Solis.-Racing Career:...	Alex Solis Alex Solis Alex O. Solis is a jockey based in the United States. He currently lives in Glendora, California and rides predominantly in Southern California...	Julio C. Canani	Alex Solis II/Jeffrey Strauss	1:47.86
2008	Colonel John Colonel John Colonel John is an American Thoroughbred racehorse and the winner of the 2008 Santa Anita Derby.Bred and raced by WinStar Farm, he was sired by Tiznow, the 2000 American Horse of the Year and a two-time winner of the Breeders' Cup Classic...	Garrett Gomez Garrett K. Gomez Garrett Keith Gomez is an American thoroughbred jockey.-Early career:Gomez learned to ride by watching his father, Louie, who was a jockey at many tracks in the Southwest United States...	Eoin G. Harty Eoin G. Harty Eoin G. Harty is a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer in the United States. From a family of horsemen, Eoin Harty is the fourth generation to be involved in racing...	WinStar Farm LLC WinStar Farm WinStar Farm is an American Thoroughbred horse breeding and racing farm near Versailles, Kentucky. Formerly known as Prestonwood Farm, it was owned by Houston, Texas oilmen Jack, Art, and J. R...	1:50.15
2007	Ravel	Garrett Gomez	Michael McCarthy	Michael Tabor Michael Tabor Michael B. Tabor is a businessman and owner of Thoroughbred racehorses.-Thoroughbred racing career:... /Derrick Smith	1:48.91
2006	Bob and John Bob and John Bob and John is an American thoroughbred racehorse. He is the son of Seeking The Gold out of the mare Minister's Melody. His sire is a son of Mr. Prospector and his dam is from Deputy Minister. Bob and John was bred and raced by Stonerside Stable...	Victor Espinoza Victor Espinoza Victor Espinoza is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. He began riding in his native Mexico and earned his first win there in 1992 before moving the following year to compete at racetracks in California....	Bob Baffert Bob Baffert Robert A. "Bob" Baffert is an American horse owner and trainer, whose horses have won three Kentucky Derbies, five Preakness Stakes, one Belmont Stakes and two Kentucky Oaks. He graduated from the University of Arizona's with a Bachelor of Science degree. -Early career:Bob Baffert began his...	Stonerside Stable Stonerside Stable Stonerside Stable is an American Thoroughbred horse breeding farm and horse racing operation in Paris, Kentucky. Until September 2008 it was owned by Robert and Janice McNair, who also own the National Football League team, the Houston Texans...	1:49.15
2005	Going Wild	Victor Espinoza Victor Espinoza Victor Espinoza is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. He began riding in his native Mexico and earned his first win there in 1992 before moving the following year to compete at racetracks in California....	D. Wayne Lukas D. Wayne Lukas Darrell Wayne Lukas is a former educator who became one of the most successful horse trainers in American Thoroughbred horse racing history and a U.S...	Bob & Beverly Lewis	1:50.18
2004	Master David	Alex Solis Alex Solis Alex O. Solis is a jockey based in the United States. He currently lives in Glendora, California and rides predominantly in Southern California...	Robert J. Frankel	Georgica Stable et al.	1:49.20
2003	Man Among Men	Alex Solis Alex Solis Alex O. Solis is a jockey based in the United States. He currently lives in Glendora, California and rides predominantly in Southern California...	Gary Mandella	Hubbard and Sczesny	1:48.39
2002	USS Tinosa	Kent Desormeaux Kent Desormeaux Kent Jason Desormeaux is an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who holds the U.S. record for most races won in a single year, 1989.-Brief biography:...	Jerry Hollendorfer Jerry Hollendorfer Jerry Hollendorfer is an American Thoroughbred racehorse owner and trainer. He has the most wins in the history of Northern California race horse trainers....	Abruzzo & Thiriot	1:49.11
2001	Wild and Wise	Victor Espinoza Victor Espinoza Victor Espinoza is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. He began riding in his native Mexico and earned his first win there in 1992 before moving the following year to compete at racetracks in California....	Bob Baffert Bob Baffert Robert A. "Bob" Baffert is an American horse owner and trainer, whose horses have won three Kentucky Derbies, five Preakness Stakes, one Belmont Stakes and two Kentucky Oaks. He graduated from the University of Arizona's with a Bachelor of Science degree. -Early career:Bob Baffert began his...	Golden Eagle Farm	1:50.51