Ballston Spa Stakes
| Grade II race | |
| Location | Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Springs, New York, United States |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1989 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred - Flat racing |
| Website | NYRA - Saratoga Race Course |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1+1⁄16 miles (8.5 furlongs) |
| Surface | Turf |
| Track | Left-handed |
| Qualification | Fillies & Mares, three-years-old & up |
| Weight | Allowance |
| Purse | $400,000 (since 2015) |
The Ballston Spa Handicap is an American race for thoroughbred horses open to fillies and mares, age three and up, on the turf at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is a Grade II race run at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles with a purse of $400,000.
From its inception in 1989 until 1993 the race was run as the Aqueduct Budweiser Breeders' Cup Handicap at a distance of one mile. From 1994 through 1996, the race was known as the Saratoga Breeders' Cup Handicap, the same name that would later be used for the Saratoga Cup Handicap. Its current name honors Ballston Spa, New York, a small town just south of Saratoga Springs.
The race had its 27th running in 2015.
Records
Speed record: (at current distance of 1+1⁄16 miles)
- 1:38.77 - Strike Charmer (2016)
Most wins:
- 2 - Weekend Madness (1994, 1995)
- 2 - Wait a While (2007, 2008)
Most wins by an owner:
- 2 - New Phoenix Stable (1994, 1995)
- 2 - Arindel Farm (2007, 2008)
Most wins by a jockey:
- 5 - John Velazquez (1997, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008)
Most wins by a trainer:
- 2 - Burk Kessinger, Jr. (1994, 1995)
- 2 - Christophe Clement (1996, 2001)
- 2 - W. Elliott Walden (1999, 2000)
- 2 - Robert J. Frankel (2002, 2005)
- 2 - William I. Mott (2003, 2006)
- 2 - Todd A. Pletcher (2004, 2007)
- 2 - Chad C. Brown (2012, 2015)
- 2 - Mark Hennig (1997, 2016)