Open to fillies and mares three years old and up, it is contested over a distance of five furlongs on turf.
The race is run on the "Filly Friday" of Preakness Stakes weekend.
It was named in honor of The Very One, one of the best race mares in training during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Her most famous wins came in the grade one Santa Barbara Handicap in California and the grade two Dixie Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, over the best turf males in the country in 1979.
[2] The Very One Stakes is the lead off leg of the Mid Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships Fillies and Mares Sprint Turf Division or MATCh Races.