Turf Monster Stakes
Horse race
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Turf Monster Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three years old or older, over a distance of five furlongs on the turf held annually in September at Parx Casino and Racing racetrack in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. As of 2019, the event currently carried a purse of $300,000.
| Class | Grade III |
|---|---|
| Location | Parx Casino and Racing Bensalem, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Inaugurated | 2002 (as Turf Monster Handicap) |
| Race type | Thoroughbred - Flat racing |
| Website | Parx |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 5 furlongs |
| Surface | Turf |
| Track | left-handed |
| Qualification | Three years old and older |
| Weight | Base weights with allowances: Older: 126 lbs 3YOs: 122 lbs |
| Purse | $300,000 (2019) |
History
The race was inaugurated on May 27, 2002[1] with an attractive purse offered of $100,000[1] as the Turf Monster Handicap.
In 2011 the event was upgraded to a Grade III.[2]
The event has attracted fast sprinters from the East Coast of the US, including Pure Sensation, who won this event four times[3] and Ben's Cat who won this event twice.[4]
The race was not held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] In 2021 the ten-year-old Hollywood Talent finished with a late surge and won by 1+1⁄4 lengths at odds of 108-1,[5] but the horse was later disqualified after drug testing found the prohibited substance levamisole.[6]
The 2024 running was moved off the turf to the dirt track due to the poor state of the turf track.[7]
Records
Speed record:
- 5 furlongs – 55.53 - Smart Enough (2007)
Margins:
- 5+1⁄4 lengths – Worldwind Romance (2005)
- Most wins by a jockey
- 4 – Kendrick Carmouche (2008, 2015, 2017, 2018)
- Most wins by a trainer
- 4 – Christophe Clement (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019)
- Most wins by an owner
- 4 – Patricia A. Generazio (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019)
- Winners of Parx Dash Stakes – Turf Monster Stakes double
- Ben's Cat (2012), Pure Sensation (2017, 2019)
Winners
| Year | Winner | Age | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Distance | Time | Purse | Grade | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turf Monster Stakes | ||||||||||
| 2025 | Race not held | |||||||||
| 2024 | Smooth B | 5 | Mychel Sanchez | Robert Reid Jr. | LC Racing | 5 furlongs | 58.31 | $250,000 | Listed | Off turf[8] |
| 2023 | Nobody Listens | 5 | Tyler Gaffalione | Tim Eggleston | Matt Kwiatkowski, Jason Kaylor & Roger D. Browning | 5 furlongs | 1:01.40 | $250,000 | III | [9] |
| 2022 | That's Right | 3 | Andy Hernandez | Michael M. Moore | James A. Shannon Jr. | 5 furlongs | 57.66 | $300,000 | III | [10] |
| 2021 | † Beer Can Man | 3 | Flavien Prat | Mark Glatt | Little Red Feather Racing & Sterling Stables | 5 furlongs | 59.51 | $300,000 | III | [5] |
| 2020 | Race not held | |||||||||
| 2019 | Pure Sensation | 8 | Paco Lopez | Christophe Clement | Patricia A. Generazio | 5 furlongs | 57.80 | $300,000 | III | [11] |
| 2018 | Pure Sensation | 7 | Kendrick Carmouche | Christophe Clement | Patricia A. Generazio | 5 furlongs | 56.42 | $300,000 | III | [12] |
| 2017 | Pure Sensation | 6 | Kendrick Carmouche | Christophe Clement | Patricia A. Generazio | 5 furlongs | 57.13 | $300,000 | III | [13] |
| 2016 | Doctor J Dub | 6 | Sheldon Russell | Jena Antonucci | Drawing Away Stable | 5 furlongs | 58.73 | $300,000 | III | [14] |
| Turf Monster Handicap | ||||||||||
| 2015 | Pure Sensation | 4 | Kendrick Carmouche | Christophe Clement | Patricia A. Generazio | 5 furlongs | 55.81 | $300,000 | III | [15] |
| 2014 | Sharp Sensation | 4 | David Moran | Reade Baker | Jim & Susan Hill | 5 furlongs | 57.39 | $300,000 | III | [16] |
| 2013 | Stormofthecentury | 5 | Stewart Elliott | Louis V. Ruberto Jr. | Beechwood Racing Stable | 5 furlongs | 57.44 | $350,000 | III | [17] |
| 2012 | Ben's Cat | 6 | Julian Pimentel | King T. Leatherbury | The Jim Stable | 5 furlongs | 1:00.62 | $350,000 | III | [18] |
| 2011 | Ben's Cat | 7 | Jeremy Rose | King T. Leatherbury | The Jim Stable | 5 furlongs | 57.30 | $356,000 | III | [19] |
| 2010 | Chamberlain Bridge | 6 | Jamie Theriot | W. Bret Calhoun | Carl R. Moore Management | 5 furlongs | 56.63 | $251,000 | Listed | [20] |
| 2009 | Chamberlain Bridge | 5 | John R. Velazquez | W. Bret Calhoun | Carl R. Moore Management | 5 furlongs | 57.14 | $250,000 | Listed | [21] |
| 2008 | True to Tradition | 6 | Kendrick Carmouche | Scott A. Lake | Ben Mondello & Adam Russo | 5 furlongs | 56.17 | $250,000 | Listed | [22] |
| 2007 | Smart Enough | 4 | Joe Bravo | John R. S. Fisher | Edith R. Dixon | 5 furlongs | 55.53 | $200,000 | Listed | [23] |
| 2006 | Max West | 6 | Jose Luis Flores | Juan Carlos Guerrero | Juan Carlos Guerrero | 5 furlongs | 56.63 | $100,000 | Listed | [24] |
| 2005 | Worldwind Romance | 7 | Ryan Barber | Mark Shuman | Michael J. Gill | 5 furlongs | 57.07 | $100,000 | Listed | [25] |
| 2004 | Abderian (IRE) | 7 | Victor H. Molina | Benjamin M. Feliciano Jr. | Richard A. Englander | 5 furlongs | 57.53 | $100,000 | Listed | [26] |
| 2003 | Testify | 6 | Greta Kuntzweiler | Randy L. Morse | Robert S. Mitchell Trust | 5 furlongs | 1:00.15 | $100,000 | Listed | [27] |
| 2002 | Joe's Son Joey | 4 | Nick Santagata | Timothy A. Hills | Joseph R. Lunetta | 5 furlongs | 57.73 | $100,000 | Listed | [28] |
Legend:
Dirt
Turf
Notes:
† In 2021, Hollywood Talent finished first but was later disqualified due to a medication violation.[6]