Carleton F. Burke Handicap

The Carleton F. Burke Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Raced in late October as part of the Oak Tree Racing Association series, it is open to horses age three and older and is contested on turf at a distance of one-and-one-half miles (twelve furlongs). The race is named in honor of Carleton F. Burke, the first chairman of the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) who later served as the Director of Racing at Santa Anita Park.

From inception in 1969 through 1994, the Carleton F. Burke Handicap was raced at 1 ¹⁄₄ miles. It was run in two divisions in 1975 and 1978.

A Grade I event as recently as 1989, the Carleton F. Burke Handicap held a Grade III classification until 2011. The race was not run in 2008 and 2009 in order to accommodate the Breeders' Cup races. When the Santa Anita fall meet was moved to Hollywood Park in 2010, the race was not run again. As a result, the American Graded Stakes Committee announced that the race was not eligible for grading in 2011. If a race is not run for two consecutive years, it is not eligible for grading.

On October 9, 1977, Double Discount won this race in a world record time of 1:57 ²⁄₅ for 1 ¹⁄₄ miles on turf.^[1]

Records

Speed record:

• 2:24.13 - Spring House (2007) (at current distance of  1 ¹⁄₂ miles)
• 1:57.40 - Double Discount (1977) (World Record at previous distance of  1 ¹⁄₄ miles)

Most wins:

• 2 - Fiddle Isle (1969, 1970)

Most wins by an owner:

• 3 - Howard B. Keck (1969, 1970, 1974)

Most wins by a jockey:

• 7 - Bill Shoemaker (1969, 1970, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1986)

Most wins by a trainer:

• 11 - Charles Whittingham (1969, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1986, 1987, 1988)

Winners

Notes

References

• The 2007 Carleton F. Burke Handicap