Ten Things You Should Know: Summit of Speed

By Kevin Martin, Hello Race Fans Contributing Editor

1) The Summit of Speed, originally run at Calder Race Course from 2000 – 2013, returns in 2015 at Gulfstream Park in Florida. The series is still comprised four graded sprint stakes.

2) The races on the Summit of Speed lineup includes the Grade 3 Azalea Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, the Grade 3 Carry Back Stakes for 3-year-olds, the Grade 3 Smile Sprint for 3-year-olds and up, and Grade 2 Princess Rooney Handicap for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up. The Smile Sprint and Princess Rooney are part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge series.

3) The four races that make up the Summit of Speed card were run prior to the inaugural Summit in 2000. The Azalea and Carry Back have been run since 1975. The Smile and Princess Rooney were inaugurated in 1984 and 1985.

4) The first Summit of Speed in 2000 offered over $1 million in purses. The wagering handle for the first Summit broke the Calder Race Course record, with over $8 million bet on the 12-race card.

5) In 2000, Caller One won the Carry Back Stakes. He went on to win the next two editions of the Dubai Golden Shaheen on Dubai World Cup night.

6) In 2001, Yankees’ owner George Steinbrenner’s Kinsman Stable won the Carry Back with Illusioned and the Princess Rooney with Dream Supreme.

7) In 2003, two of the Summit’s current undercard races (Carry Back and Smile Sprint) were upgraded to Grade 3 status. The Azalea and Princess Rooney were graded prior to the first Summit of Speed.

8) In 2005, Lost in the Fog won the Carry Back Stakes. His time of 1:09.3 for 6 furlongs is a stakes record that still stands. He returned to Calder in 2006 to race in the Smile Sprint and finished an uncharacteristic 9th. About a month later, Lost in the Fog was found to be stricken with cancer. The Smile was his final start and he died in 2007.

9) In 2007, both the Smile and the Princess Rooney had purses of $500,000. They were cut back the following year and the races currently have purses of $250,000.

10) In 2002 and 2003, the Breeders’ Cup Sprint winners (Orientate and Cajun Beat) raced in that year’s Smile Sprint. In 2010, Smile Sprint winner Big Drama won the Breeders Cup Sprint and was voted Eclipse winner in the Sprint division.