The Affirmed Stakes is a Listed American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses over a distance of 1+1⁄16 miles on the dirt held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California in late-June.
The inaugural running of the event was on 30 June 1979 at Hollywood Park Racetrack as the Silver Screen Handicap at a distance of 1+1⁄8 miles and was won by the promising three year old Valdez who won by 10 lengths,[1] which continues to be the longest winning margin in the event.
[2] However, the former Hollywood Park Media Guide management organization[3] and the current Santa Anita management consider the event to have no connection.
In 1993 the race was renamed to the Affirmed Handicap in honor of the 1978 U.S.
[4] In 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Santa Anita closed their track and the event was cancelled[5] In 2023 the American Graded Stakes Committee downgraded the event to a Listed race.