The Vernon O. Underwood 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 Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California

Inglewood, California

Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. Its population stood at 109,673 as of the 2010 Census...

. Raced in late November, 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 open to horses age three and older. It is contested on Cushion Track synthetic dirt at a distance of six furlong

Furlong

A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, or 10 chains. The exact value of the furlong varies slightly among English-speaking countries....

s.

Inaugurated as the National Sprint Championship Stakes, in 1990 the name was changed to honor Vernon O. Underwood (1907–1990), a prominent California businessman. http://www.youngsmarket.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ContentAttachmentView?storeId=10551&contentName=YMC_B2CAboutUs.html

In 2001, H. Eugene Reed's eight-year-old gelding

Gelding

A gelding is a castrated horse or other equine such as a donkey or a mule. Castration, and the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male horse to be calmer and better-behaved, making the animal quieter, gentler and potentially more suitable as an everyday...

 Men's Exclusive became the first back-to-back winner of the race and its oldest winner.

The race was run in two divisions in 1981, 1982, and 1984.

Records

Speed record:

• 1:07.79 - Sailors Sunset (2006) (new track record on Cushion Track)

Most wins:

• 2 - Men's Exclusive (2000, 2001)

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...

:

• 3 - John W. Sadler
  John W. Sadler
  John W. Sadler is an American horse trainer in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing.Sadler got his first win in 1979 at Golden Gate Fields racetrack in the San Francisco Bay Area...
  
   (1989, 1990, 2010)

Winners since 1989

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
2011	Pacific Ocean	4	Joel Rosario Joel Rosario Joel Rosario is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing.Raised on a farm where he regularly road horses, Joel Rosario attended jockey school for six months. He obtained his professional license at age fourteen and began riding at Hipódromo V Centenario in Santo Domingo where he earned his...	Mike Mitchell	JMJ Racing Stable	1:08.48
2010	Cost of Freedom	7	Joe Talamo	John W. Sadler John W. Sadler John W. Sadler is an American horse trainer in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing.Sadler got his first win in 1979 at Golden Gate Fields racetrack in the San Francisco Bay Area...	Gary & Cecil Barber	1:08.46
2009	Kinsale King Kinsale King Kinsale King is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Previously trained with Eoin Harty, Kinsale King was turned over to Carl O'Callaghan during the Del Mar Racetrack meet in summer 2009. His first stakes win was the December 6 Vernon O. Underwood Stakes at Hollywood Park Racetrack...	4	Martin Garcia Martin Garcia (jockey) Martin Garcia is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing who rides from a base in Southern California.He emigrated to the United States in 2003 and went to work at a delicatessen in Pleasanton, California...	Carl O'Callaghan	Patrick Sheehy	1:09.67
2008	Johnny Eves	4	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...	Jay M. Robbins	Sharon Hilliard	1:07.90
2007	Bushwacker	5	Joseph Talamo Joseph Talamo Joseph Talamo is a Champion jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing.Born and raised in Marrero on the West Bank of the Mississippi River, within the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan area, Joe Talamo was influenced by a father who worked in horse racing as an assistant trainer...	William L. Currin	Currin & Alvin Eisman	1:08.47
2006	Sailors Sunset	3	Jon Court Jon Court Jon Kenton Court is an American jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing.Having grown up in Florida, Jon Court began riding in Colorado at the now closed Centennial Park in 1980....	Marcelo Polanco	Everest stables	1:07.79
2005	Bordonaro	4	Pat Valenzuela Pat Valenzuela Patrick Angel Valenzuela is an American thoroughbred horse racing jockey. Born into a racing family, his father plus three of his uncles, including Ismael Valenzuela, were jockeys. He rode his first career winner on November 10, 1978, at Sunland Park Racetrack in Sunland Park, New Mexico...	William B. Spawr	F. Carrillo & D. Casse	1:08.11
2004	Taste of Paradise	5	Jose Valdivia, Jr. Jose Valdivia, Jr. Jose Valdivia, Jr. is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. The son of a top South American jockey, he is the nephew of retired jockey Fernando Toro and trainer, Juan Suarez. He and his family moved to the United States in 1989 and settled in the West Palm Beach, Florida area where his...	Gary Mandella	David Bloom	1:08.04
2003	Watchem Smokey	3	Julie Krone Julie Krone Julie Krone , is a retired American jockey. In 1993, she became the first female jockey to win a Triple Crown race when she captured the Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair...	Robert J. Frankel	Edmund A. Gann Edmund A. Gann Edmund A. Gann is an American businessman and Thoroughbred racehorse owner.-Early life and career:...	1:08.93
2002	Debonair Joe	3	Julie Krone Julie Krone Julie Krone , is a retired American jockey. In 1993, she became the first female jockey to win a Triple Crown race when she captured the Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair...	Juan Pablo Silva	Lynne H. Ristad	1:09:17
2001	Men's Exclusive	8	Laffit Pincay, Jr. Laffit Pincay, Jr. Laffit Alejandro Pincay, Jr. is a flat racing's all-time winningest jockey. He competed primarily in the United States.-Career:...	Wesley A. Ward Wesley A. Ward Wesley A. Ward is a retired American Champion jockey and a current trainer in Thoroughbred horse racing...	H. Eugene Reed	1:09.04
2000	Men's Exclusive	7	Laffit Pincay, Jr. Laffit Pincay, Jr. Laffit Alejandro Pincay, Jr. is a flat racing's all-time winningest jockey. He competed primarily in the United States.-Career:...	Wesley A. Ward Wesley A. Ward Wesley A. Ward is a retired American Champion jockey and a current trainer in Thoroughbred horse racing...	H. Eugene Reed	1:09.02
1999	Five Star Day	3	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...	C. Beau Greely	Columbine Stable	1:09.91
1998	Love That Jazz	4	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:...	Neil Drysdale Neil Drysdale Neil D. Drysdale is an American based thoroughbred race horse trainer.Based in Playa Del Rey, California, he has won two Triple Crown races - the Belmont Stakes with A.P. Indy in 1992 and the Kentucky Derby with Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000...	Irving & Marge Cowan	1:08.79
1997	Tower Full	5	Corey Nakatani Corey Nakatani Corey S. Nakatani is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He got his big break in 1990 when he rode Itsallgreektome to win big stakes races.Nakatani currently resides at Belmont Park...	Craig Dollase	Moon S. Han	1:08.17
1996	Paying Dues	4	Pat Day Pat Day Patrick Alan "Pat" Day is an American jockey. He is a four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991...	Clifford Sise, Jr.	Ballantyne, Owen & Welty	1:08.24
1995	Powis Castle	4	Gary Stevens	Rodney Rash Rodney Rash Rodney R. Rash was an American trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses.Born in Frederick, Maryland, Rash grew up on a dairy farm and was exposed to the sights and sounds of Thoroughbred horse racing when he helped his father deliver hay to horse farms and racetracks...	Vistas Stables	1:08.40
1994	Wekiva Springs	3	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:...	Robert Hess, Jr.	Dizney & English	1:08.37
1993	Meafara	4	Gary Stevens	Gary F. Jones Gary F. Jones Gary F. Jones is a retired trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses whose career began in 1974 and ended with his retirement at the end of July, 1996 having earned $52,672,611 in purses and the winner of 1,465 races including 102 graded stakes.Among the outstanding horses trained by Gary Jones were Hall...	Frank Muench	1:10.01
1992	Gundaghia	5	Gary Stevens	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...	Goodman & Kieckhefer	1:09.33
1991	Individualist	4	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:...	David Hofmans David Hofmans David E. Hofmans is an American trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses. Born and raised in Los Angeles, as a boy his father brought him to watch horse racing at area tracks. While a student at Pasadena City College he became friends with Gary Jones...	Golden Eagle Farm	1:08.86
1990	Frost Free	5	Chris McCarron Chris McCarron Christopher John "Chris" McCarron is a retired American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey. He is currently working as a racing analyst for TVG Network....	John W. Sadler John W. Sadler John W. Sadler is an American horse trainer in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing.Sadler got his first win in 1979 at Golden Gate Fields racetrack in the San Francisco Bay Area...	Triple Dot Dash Stable & Vandervoort	1:08.20
1989	Olympic Prospect	5	Alex Solis	John W. Sadler John W. Sadler John W. Sadler is an American horse trainer in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing.Sadler got his first win in 1979 at Golden Gate Fields racetrack in the San Francisco Bay Area...	Alsdorf, Opas & Sinatra	1:08.80