The event was inaugurated on Wednesday, 2 March 1983 as the Potrero Grande Handicap for horses four year old and older and was won by Hi-Yu Stable's Washington State bred Chinook Pass who was ridden by US Hall of Fame jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. in a time of 1:143⁄5.
[1] Chinook Pass would continue on a superb season with several more wins on the Southern California circuit culminating him being crowned as U.S. Champion Sprint Horse for that year.
The event was named after Rancho Potrero Grande, a Mexican land grant in present-day Los Angeles County, California today located nearby in Rosemead and South El Monte, about 6 miles from Santa Anita Racetrack in Arcadia.
[2] That year the event only attracted three starters with Gulch winning in an upset victory over the 1987 Breeders' Cup Sprint winner and 1/2 odds favorite Very Subtle by a 1+1⁄4 length margin.
[8] Other fine horses that have won this event and have gone on to win the Breeders' Cup Sprint later in their career include Cardmania, Lit de Justice and Amazombie.