The Ballerina Handicap is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares that are three years old or older over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt track scheduled annually in August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.
The inaugural running of the Ballerina Stakes was 20 August 1979 and was won by the Ogden Phipps-owned three-year-old filly Blitey, who was ridden by the US Hall of Fame jockey Ángel Cordero Jr. on a muddy track in a time of 1:231⁄5.
The only dual winner of the event, Shine Again failed by a nose to win a third time as a six-year-old when she was beaten by the 13-1 outsider Harmony Lodge in 2003.
[4] The event continues to be a part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series with the winner of the Ballerina Stakes automatically qualifying for the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.
§ Ran as an entry List of American and Canadian Graded races