Holy Bull Stakes

Road to the Kentucky Derby > Holy Bull Stakes

Holy Bull Stakes Race Facts

• Location: Gulfstream Park, Hallandale Beach, FL
• Inaugural Race: 1990
• Current Distance: 1 1/16 miles
• Track Type: Left-Handed Dirt
• Age Qualifications: Three-year-olds
• Status: Grade 3
• 2023 Purse: $250,000
• 2023 Race Date: Saturday, February 4^th

The Gulfstream Park stakes race, the Holy Bull, provides a warm weather race where much of the North American racing world runs during the winter. The Road to the Kentucky Derby prep-race awards a point split of 20-8-6-4-2 to the top five finishing contenders.

2023 Holy Bull Stakes Race Results

Exotic Payoffs:

• $1 Exacta (8-3) Paid: $74.70
• $0.50 Trifecta (8-3-2) Paid: $411.80
• $0.10 Superfecta (8-3-2-6) Paid: $680.60

Watch the 2023 Holy Bull Stakes

The History of the Holy Bull Stakes

The Holy Bull Stakes is held annually in late-January or early-February at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. The race is for three-year-olds and is run on a dirt surface, left-handed track at a distance of 1 1/16 miles (or 8.5 furlongs). From 2007 to 2012 it was contested at different lengths, ranging from 1 mile to 1 3/16 miles.  

It was previously named the Preview Stakes and was created to replace the Flamingo Stakes. It was renamed after Hall of Fame racehorse Holy Bull in 1996, and it was named the Lambholm South Holy Bull Stakes in 2015.

From 1991 to 2004, the race was contested without a graded stakes designation. In 1993, the American Graded Stakes Committee upgraded it to a Grade III race, and it was then upgraded again to a Grade II level race in 2014 before being downgraded back to Grade III in 2020. The race is included in the prep race circuit for the Kentucky Derby, and awards twenty qualifying points to the winner. Two horses have won the Kentucky Derby and the Holy Bull in the same year: Go for Gin (1994) and Barbaro (2006). Closing Argument finished second in the Kentucky Derby the year he won the Holy Bull Stakes (2005).

Holy Bull Stakes Records

The biggest margin of victory at the race is eight lengths. The record for fastest time at its current length (1 1/6-mile distance) is 1:41.62, set by Go for Gin in 1994. At the 1 1/8 distance, Barbaro set the record of 1:49.31 in 2006. The fastest time overall is 1:35.19, which was set by Dialed In at a distance of 1 mile in 2011.

The record for most wins by a jockey is five, held by Jerry Bailey (1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998). The record for most wins by a trainer is three, jointly held by Nick Zito (1998, 1995, 2011) and Kiaran McLaughlin (2005, 2014, 2016). William J. Condren (1994, 1995) and Paul Braverman (2014, 2019) are tied for the tied for most wins by an owner with two each.

Many notable horses have a Holy Bull Stakes victory on their resume. A few of the more noteworthy and recognizable names include Go for Gin (1994 Kentucky Derby winner), Offlee Wild (2005 Breeders’ Cup Handicap winner), Barbaro (2006 Kentucky Derby winner) and Tiz the Law (2020 Belmont Stakes winner).

Holy Bull Stakes Past Winners