| Grade II race | |
| Location | Del Mar Racetrack Del Mar, California, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1986 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred - Flat racing |
| Website | www |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 7 furlongs |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Track | left-handed |
| Qualification | Three-years-old & up |
| Weight | Assigned |
| Purse | $200,000 (2016) |
The Pat O'Brien Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. In 2009, this race became a Grade I event. [1] It has since become downgraded to a Grade II stakes.
Del Mar is a beach city in San Diego County, California. Del Mar is Spanish for "of the sea" or "by the sea," which reflects its location on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. The Del Mar Horse Races are hosted on the Del Mar racetrack every summer. In 1885, Colonel Jacob Taylor purchased 338 acres (1.37 km2) from Enoch Talbert, with visions of building a seaside resort for the rich and famous. The United States Navy operated a Naval Auxiliary Air Facility for blimps at Del Mar during World War II. The population was estimated at 4,311 in 2014, up from 4,161 at the 2010 census.
A graded stakes race is a thoroughbred horse race in the United States that meets the criteria of the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA). A specific grade level is then assigned to the race, based on statistical analysis of the quality of the field in previous years, provided the race meets the minimum purse criteria for the grade in question. In Canada, a similar grading system is maintained by the Jockey Club of Canada. Graded stakes races are similar to Group races in Europe but the grading is more dynamic in North America.
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The race was named in honor of actor and Del Mar Racetrack co-founder, Pat O'Brien. The race, also known as the Pat O'Brien Breeders' Cup Handicap, is open to horses age three and up willing to race seven furlongs on dirt, and currently carries a purse of $200,000.
William Joseph Patrick O'Brien was an American film actor with more than 100 screen credits. Of Irish descent, he often played Irish and Irish-American characters and was referred to as "Hollywood's Irishman in Residence" in the press. One of the best-known screen actors of the 1930s and 1940s, he played priests, cops, military figures, pilots, and reporters. He is especially well-remembered for his roles in Knute Rockne, All American (1940), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), and Some Like It Hot (1959). He was frequently paired onscreen with Hollywood legend James Cagney. O'Brien also appeared on stage and television.
A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, or 10 chains.
Pat O'Brien, a classic character movie actor who often appeared in a Jimmy Cagney starring vehicle, loved the races.
James Francis Cagney Jr. was an American actor and dancer, both on stage and in film. Known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing, he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances. He is best remembered for playing multifaceted tough guys in films such as The Public Enemy (1931), Taxi! (1932), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), and White Heat (1949), finding himself typecast or limited by this reputation earlier in his career. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth among its list of greatest male stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Orson Welles said of Cagney, "[he was] maybe the greatest actor who ever appeared in front of a camera".
