Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash Stakes

The De Francis Memorial Dash is a Listed American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland. Open to horses aged three and older, it is competed on dirt over a distance of six furlongs. It is currently run in late July and offers a purse of $250,000.

De Francis Memorial Dash
Listed race
LocationLaurel Park Racecourse,
Laurel, Maryland,
United States
Inaugurated1990
Race typeThoroughbredFlat racing
Websitewww.laurelpark.com/De+Francis+Dash/
Race information
Distance6 furlong sprint
SurfaceDirt
Trackleft-handed
QualificationThree-year-olds & up
WeightAssigned
Purse$250,000[1]

Race history

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The Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash is one of the elite sprints in the country. Until 2010, it was one of the only two six-furlong contests with Grade I status, and was second only to the Breeders' Cup Sprint in purse money and prestige. After the race was not run in 2008 and 2010, the race was not eligible for grading in 2011.[2] On December 3, 2015, the Maryland Jockey Club announced that the race has been upgraded to grade III for 2016 by the American Graded Stakes Committee.[3]

The De Francis, first contested in 1990, has played host to champions Housebuster, Safely Kept, and Cherokee Run.

The inaugural De Francis Dash attracted the nation's finest sprinters to Pimlico Race Course in the summer of 1990. Included in the spectacular field were 1989 Sprint Champion Safely Kept and top sprinters Glitterman and Sewickley. But at the wire, in a fitting tribute to the late Mr. De Francis, it was Maryland-bred, Maryland-based Northern Wolf in a track record-setting time of 1:09.

The Dash moved to Laurel for its second running. The distinguished field included two champions; Safely Kept and Housebuster as well as leading sprinters Clever Trevor and Sunny Blossom. Housebuster captured the winner's share of the lucrative purse with a five length victory. He was named Eclipse Award Sprint Champion for the second year in a row.

During the next nine years while the Dash reigned as Laurel Park's signature summer event, it was captured by two additional Sprint Champions: Cherokee Run (1994) and Smoke Glacken (1997).

The race was moved to the fall by Maryland Jockey Club Chief Operating Officer Lou Raffetto in 2001 with instant success. Taking advantage of a deep sprinting field three weeks after the Breeders' Cup Sprint, the De Francis Dash attracted a strong field of seven, including four of the top Breeder's Cup finishers with visions of an Eclipse Award.

The De Francis Dash was given Graded stakes status in 1992 and became a Grade I event in 1998. On August 7, 2008 it was announced that the race would be on hiatus for 2008, the Maryland Jockey Club cited financial distress as the reason for the races' cancellation.

It became a grade I race in 1999, but was not run in 2008 and 2010. The race lost its graded status when restored in 2011, then became a Grade III event in 2016.[1]

The De Francis Memorial Dash (G3) is the final and championship leg of the Mid Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships Sprint Dirt Division or MATCh Races. MATCh is a series of five races in five separate thoroughbred divisions run throughout four Mid-Atlantic States including; Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park Racecourse in Maryland; Delaware Park Racetrack in Delaware; Parx, Philadelphia Park and Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania and Monmouth Park in New Jersey.

Records

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Speed record:

  • 1:07.80 – Richter Scale (2000) {Stakes and track record}

Most wins:

  • 2 – Lite The Fuse (1995, 1996)

Most wins by a jockey:

Most wins by a trainer:

Most wins by an owner:

Winners De Francis Memorial Dash Stakes since 1990

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Yr
Winner
Age
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Dist
Time
Purse
Gr
2020 - 6 fur. 0:00.00 $250,000 III
2019 Killybegs Captain 5 Eric Cancel John P. Terranova Curragh Stables 6 fur. 1:08.10 $250,000 III
2018 Switzerland 4 Feargal Lynch Steve Asmussen Woodford Racing, LLC 6 fur. 1:09.11 $250,000 III
2017 Chubilicious 6 Horacio Karamanos Claudio Gonzalez David Gruskos 6 fur. 1:08.75 $250,000 III
2016 Ivan Fallunovalot 6 Calvin Borel W. Howard Lewis Matthews 6 fur. 1:10.07 $250,000 III
2015 Gentlemen's Bet 6 Daniel Centeno Ron Moquett Harry T. Rosenblum 6 fur. 1:09.34 $350,000
2014 Zee Bros 4 José Ortiz D. Wayne Lukas Zayat Stables 6 fur. 1:08.77 $350,000
2013 Immortal Eyes 9 TravisDunkelberger DamonDilodovico Robert Abbo Racing 6 fur. 1:08.47 $350,000
2012 Action Andy 5 HoracioKaramanos Carlos Garcia Robert Gerczak 6 fur. 1:10.61 $350,000
2011 Candyman E 4 Joe Bravo Anthony Dutrow Kuehne Racing 6 fur. 1:09.43 $150,000
2010 No Race - No Race No Race No Race - 0:00.00 no race II
2009 Vineyard Haven 3 Alan Garcia Saeed bn Suroor Godolphin Racing 6 fur 1:09.62 $300,000 I
2008 No Race - No Race No Race No Race - 0:00.00 no race I
2007 Benny the Bull 4 Edgar Prado Richard Dutrow IEAH Stables 6 fur 1:09.86 $250,000 I
2006 Thor's Echo 4 Corey Nakatani Doug O'Neill Pablo Suarez/R.Jaime 6 fur 1:08.71 $300,000 I
2005 I'm The Tiger 5 Jerry Bailey Robert J. Frankel Stronach Stable 6 fur 1:09.06 $300,000 I
2004 Wildcat Heir 4 Stewart Elliott Ben Perkins Cloverleaf Farms II et al. 6 fur 1:09.45 $300,000 I
2003 A Huevo 7 Ramon Domínguez Michael Dickinson Mark S. Hopkins 6 fur 1:08.92 $300,000 I
2002 D'Wildcat 4 Jorge Chavez Robert B. Hess Fog City Stable 6 fur 1:10.80 $300,000 I
2001 DelawareTownship 5 Jerry Bailey Ben W. Perkins New Farm 6 fur 1:09.00 $300,000 I
2000 Richter Scale 6 Richard Migliore Mary Jo Lohmeier N. Fox/N.R. Kaster et al. 6 fur 1:07.80 $300,000 I
1999 Yes Its True 3 Jerry Bailey D. Wayne Lukas Padua Stables 6 fur 1:08.60 $300,000 I
1998 Kelly Kip 4 Jean-Luc Samyn H. Allen Jerkens Hobeau Farm 6 fur 1:08.40 $300,000 II
1997 Smoke Glacken 3 Craig Perret Henry L. Carroll Roberts/Karkenny/Levy 6 fur 1:09.40 $300,000 II
1996 Lite The Fuse 5 Julie Krone Richard Dutrow Richard Dutrow Sr. 6 fur 1:08.80 $300,000 II
1995 Lite The Fuse 4 Julie Krone Richard Dutrow Richard Dutrow Sr. 6 fur 1:08.80 $300,000 II
1994 Cherokee Run 4 Craig Perret Frank A. Alexander Jill E. Robinson 6 fur 1:08.80 $300,000 II
1993 Montbrook 3 Clarence J. Ladner Dean Gaudet Israel Cohen 6 fur 1:08.60 $300,000 III
1992 Superstrike 3 Danny Sorenson Bruce L. Jackson David R. Kruse 6 fur 1:09.80 $300,000 III
1991 Housebuster 4 Craig Perret Warren A. Croll Jr. Robert P. Levy 6 fur 1:08.60 $350,000
1990 Northern Wolf 4 Mike Luzzi Harold A. Allen Deep Silver Stable 6 fur 1:09.00 $350,000

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash Stakes Profile". www.equibase.com. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  2. ^ Blood Horse: 2011 Graded Stakes: 13 Fewer Than '10
  3. ^ "Frank De Francis Memorial Graded for 2016". No. Blood Horse. December 3, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2023.