Mr. Prospector Stakes

The event is named in honor of the outstanding breeding stallion and notable sire of sires Mr. Prospector^[1] who held the 6 furlongs track record at Gulfstream Park.^[2]

The race was inaugurated in 1946 and the event was run as the Hallandale Handicap.^[3] The conditions of the race were open for three year olds over a distance of 1+1⁄16 miles.^[3] The following two runnings were extended to three years olds and older and the distance extended to 9 furlongs.^[3] The race was not run in 1949 and was resumed in 1950 under the name Hallandale Purse.^[3] In 1956 the event was run under the original naming of Hallandale Handicap. In 1957 again the event was not held.^[3] From 1958 to 1971 the event was run again as the Hallandale Purse.

The 1970s were an unstable period for the event. From 1972 –74 the event was not held^[3] and the 1975 event was moved to Calder Racecourse.^[4] In 1978 the event was held as a long distance 2 mile turf event.^[5] The race was run two more times over the turf in 1980 and 1982 before it was converted to a dirt sprint race over 6 furlongs in 1983.^[5]

In 1999 the event was upgraded to Grade III and in 2001 the event was renamed to the Mr. Prospector Handicap.^[5] Since 2009 the event has been run under the current name Mr. Prospector Stakes and from 2018 over the current distance of 7 furlongs.^[5]

The event has attracted some of the finest sprinters to Gulfstream Park including 2010 American Champion Sprint Horse Big Drama and 2019 Dubai Golden Shaheen winner X Y Jet who won this event twice.