The Hillsborough Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares aged four and older, run over 1 1/8 miles on the turf at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Florida. It is one of the marquee early-spring graded turf events for distaff grass runners on the Florida racing calendar, regularly attracting accomplished turf mares and fillies exiting winter campaigns.
The 2026 Hillsborough Stakes is scheduled for March 7 during Tampa Bay Downs’ spring racing season.
In the 2025 Hillsborough Stakes, Saffron Moon captured the Grade II turf stakes over 1 1/8 miles at Tampa Bay Downs under jockey Flavien Prat for trainer Chad Brown. Other past winners include fillies and mares such as Sparkle Blue (2024) and Shantisara (2023), highlighting the race’s role as a top mid-distance turf contest for older female grass horses.
| Year | Winner | Jockey | Trainer | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Saffron Moon | Flavien Prat | Chad C. Brown | 1:47.58 |
| 2024 | Sparkle Blue | Jorge Ruiz | H. Graham Motion | 1:52.62 |
| 2023 | Shantisara (IRE) | Irad Ortiz, Jr. | Chad C. Brown | 1:47.14 |
| 2022 | Bleecker Street | Hector Rafael Diaz, Jr. | Chad C. Brown | 1:48.21 |
| 2021 | Micheline | Luis Saez | Michael Stidham | 1:47.19 |
| 2020 | Starship Jubilee | Javier Castellano | Kevin Attard | 1:47.83 |
