The D. Wayne Lukas Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares aged four and older, contested over seven furlongs on the dirt at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Renamed in honor of the legendary Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas starting with the 2026 season, it was previously run as the Santa Monica Stakes before being retitled in recognition of Lukas’s extraordinary contributions to the sport.
The 2026 D. Wayne Lukas Stakes is scheduled for February 7 as part of Santa Anita’s winter/spring stakes calendar.
Because the race was only renamed beginning with the 2026 running, recent winners historically appear under the Santa Monica Stakes banner. Past winners of this seven-furlong dirt sprint include Kopion, Merneith, and Pine Tree Lane. They are fillies and mares that have frequently gone on to compete strongly in graded sprints later in the season, making it an important early graded stakes for older females.
| Year | Winner | Jockey | Trainer | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Kopion | Antonio Fresu | Richard E. Mandella | 1:21.27 |
| 2024 | Three Witches | Flavien Prat | Michael W. McCarthy | 1:23.21 |
| 2023 | Fun to Dream | Juan J. Hernandez | Bob Baffert | 1:22.75 |
| 2022 | Merneith | Edwin A. Maldonado | Bob Baffert | 1:22.39 |
| 2021 | Merneith | Edwin A. Maldonado | Bob Baffert | 1:22.28 |
| 2020 | Hard Not to Love | Mike E. Smith | John A. Shirreffs | 1:22.19 |
