Sunland Park Oaks
The Sunland Park Oaks (formerly the WinStar Oaks) is an American Thoroughbred horse race open to three-year-old fillies and mares racing one mile (formerly one and one sixteenth miles) on the dirt. The Oaks, an ungraded stakes event, is currently held in February at Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino (founded in 1959) in New Mexico.
| Listed stakes race | |
| Location | Sunland Park Racetrack, Sunland Park, New Mexico, United States |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 2001 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred - Flat racing |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1 mile (8 furlongs) |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Track | left-handed |
| Qualification | Three-year-old fillies |
| Purse | $250,000 |
Once sponsored by WinStar Farm in Kentucky where Distorted Humor and Tiznow stand, the race offers a purse of $250,000. Begun as a one and one sixteenth mile race, then taken down to a mile, it went back to a one and one-sixteenth mile and in 2024 returned again to one mile.
Since 2013, the Oaks has been part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks, a series of races through which fillies qualify for the Kentucky Oaks. As of 2024, the Sunland Park Oaks offers Kentucky Oaks (G1) qualifying points of 20-10-6-4-2 to the respective top five finishers.
The race was not run in 2016 due to an outbreak of equine herpesvirus. The race was not run in 2020 or 2021 due to the worldwide pandemic.
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey and Mike E. Smith, as well as jockeys Patrick Valenzuela and Cash Asmussen, all began their careers at Sunland Park.