The Malibu Stakes stands as the final Grade 1 race of the season, as well as a tremendous boost to opening day of the winter-spring meet at Santa Anita Park. Since its inception in 1952, the Malibu Stakes has crafted a reputation for being an interesting race filled with legendary performances and milestone moments. This has been especially true in recent years. Mike Smith became the all-time leading rider in Grade 1 wins when he won the 2019 Malibu aboard Omaha Beach, and superstar Flightline crushed his rivals when he won by 11 1/2 lengths in 2021.

The Malibu has long been Santa Anita’s opening day main event, and as such the race has hosted multiple legends and produced a plethora of stories. As we gear up for the 2023 Malibu, here are a few of those tales.

1954: New Year, New Records

Before he sired Native Diver, Imbros proved to be a highly talented sprinter during the first half of the 1950s. A true win machine, he captured 15 races, with 10 of them coming at under a mile. In addition, Imbros set multiple track and world records, including in the 1954 Malibu Stakes, which was known as the Malibu Sequet Stakes from 1952 to 1957.

Starting his second year at the races, Imbros stayed in early contention before taking the lead and coming home in 1:20 3/5. That made him the first horse to run a sub-1:21 time in the Malibu’s young history, and it gave him the track and world records for seven furlongs on dirt. That clocking would literally stand the test of time, as no Malibu winner after Imbros would equal it until Lightning Mandate in 1975, and no horse would break it until Spectacular Bid in 1980.

1957: Round Table Reigns

Round Table, on rail, defeats Seaneen in Malibu. (BloodHorse Library)

Out of Round Table’s 43 wins, six of them took place at Santa Anita and five of them came on the main track. The first of those was the 1957 Malibu.

Starting off his winter campaign in the Malibu, Round Table made good as the overwhelming favorite. Initially staying a couple of lengths behind the pace, he prevailed by a head en route to becoming the first horse to sweep the Malibu, San Fernando Stakes, and Santa Anita Maturity (later called the Charles H. Strub and then Strub Stakes), which would become known as the Strub Series.

The Malibu would be the first of five stakes Round Table won that Santa Anita meet. No horse has matched that count at a single Santa Anita season going into 2024.

1962: A Pair of Firsts

When one thinks of Native Diver, Hollywood Park immediately comes to mind given how the speedy California-bred won three straight Hollywood Gold Cups as well as a record 10 stakes at the venue. Native Diver also had his share of success at other racetracks across California, including Santa Anita Park.

Sent to the Malibu for his 1962 season finale, Native Diver took on 12 opponents. Like Imbros before him, the popular gelding relished sprinting and he did not disappoint his fans in attendance that afternoon. In just his second Santa Anita start, Native Diver took the early lead and never gave it up as he closed out his 3-year-old campaign with a 6 1/4-length Malibu victory.

The 1962 Malibu would be the first of seven stakes triumphs for Native Diver at the Arcadia, Calif. track, and he achieved it almost nine years to the day his sire, Imbros, captured the 1954 edition, giving Imbros the distinction of being the first horse to win the Malibu as both a racehorse and a sire.

1980: A Spectacular Malibu

He was brilliant at 2, amazing at 3, and invincible at 4. In nine races during the 1980 season, no one finished in front of Spectacular Bid.

After a sophomore campaign that saw him win 10 of 12 starts, Spectacular Bid made his first outing as an older horse in the 1990 Malibu. Simply put, this once-in-a-generation talent picked up where he left off in the Grade 2 Meadowlands Cup Handicap the previous October. After running last in a compact field earlier in the race, Spectacular Bid put away his four opponents (including rival Flying Paster) with a stirring stretch run to win handily in 1:20 while setting a new track record.

The 1980 Malibu began Spectacular Bid's undefeated Horse of the Year campaign, and he would later join the club of Strub Series winners as its fourth member. As for Spectacular Bid’s new record time, it would take 30 years before another horse ran a faster Malibu than the great Thoroughbred racing icon.

1993: Shoemaker’s Ninth

More than 30 years after his last start, Bill Shoemaker continues to hold numerous records in Southern California racing. Shoemaker won the Malibu eight times, and he is the lone rider to have captured an edition of the race in four different decades.

As it turned out, one more Malibu win awaited the native Texan after he hung up his riding tack in 1990. During that same year, Shoemaker returned to the sport as a trainer. He found success in the new endeavor, guiding multiple horses to graded stakes wins. By the tail end of the 1993 season, the living legend was back in the Malibu, saddling a colt named Diazo.

A little more than three months removed from taking the Grade 1 Pegasus Handicap at the Meadowlands, Diazo rallied from last to first to complete his 3-year-old season with a Malibu Stakes score, giving Shoemaker his ninth win in the Malibu (eight as a jockey and one as a trainer). The living legend teamed up with his longtime friend and rival Laffit Pincay Jr., who rode Diazo to collect what would be his sixth and final win in the Malibu.

2010: Uncharted Time

After five career starts, Twirling Candy had already demonstrated his versatility as a winner on both synthetic and turf surfaces. The Candy Ride colt had proved an effective sprinter and router, and he had also demonstrated he could win by going to the early lead or by closely tracking the pace.

Already a Grade 2 winner when entered in the 2010 Malibu, Twirling Candy was among the top choices to take the trophy based on his four wins in five starts. Tracking the leaders early on, he rallied just in time to prevail by a nose for his first victory on a dirt surface with a time of 1:19.70.

When he arrived in the winner’s circle, Twirling Candy stood before thousands of fans as the horse who broke Spectacular Bid's long-standing track record. That was a monumental achievement in itself, but Twirling Candy added something unprecedented to the festivities. Since Santa Anita opened in 1934, no other horse had run seven furlongs on a dirt surface in under 1:20. Twirling Candy had just broken a barrier, and he still holds the track record for the distance as the 2023-'24 meet begins.

These winners and many others such as Shared Belief in 2014 and Flightline in 2021 have helped the Malibu Stakes take its place in racing history. The legendary performances continue as the race enters its eighth decade at Santa Anita.