[1] The inaugural running of the event was on 6 March 1982 as the Davona Dale Stakes over a distance of one mile and forty yards and was won by Windfields Farm's Laura North who was trained by US Hall of Fame trainer Grover G. Delp and ridden by jockey Ronald Franklin in a time of 1:424⁄5.
[2] The event was named in honor of Calumet Farm's champion homebred filly Davona Dale, foaled in 1976 was U.S. Champion Three-Year-Old Filly after winning the Grade I Kentucky Oaks and sweeping the New York Triple Tiara series: the Acorn Stakes, the Mother Goose Stakes, and the Coaching Club American Oaks.
In 1985 the distance of the event was increased to one and one sixteenth miles and the winner Marshua's Echelon also was victorious in winning both the Thelma Stakes and the Fair Grounds Oaks.
[8] Due to the catastrophic damage caused by of Hurricane Katrina to the Fair Ground Race Course in 2005 the event was held at Louisiana Downs in 2006.
[1] The Rachel Alexandra Stakes is part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks and has produced multiple winners of that race, including Monomoy Girl (2018) and Serengeti Empress (2019).