The Deputy Minister Handicap was a Grade III

Graded stakes race

A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...

 American Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...

 run annually in early February at Gulfstream Park

Gulfstream Park

Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino is a racetrack and county-approved racino in Hallandale Beach, Florida, in the United States. During its annual meet, which spans December through April, it is one of the most important venues for horse racing in America....

 in Hallandale Beach, Florida

Hallandale Beach, Florida

Hallandale Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is named after Luther Halland, a worker for Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railroad. As of the 2010 census, the population was 37,113...

. The race was open to horses age four and older and contested on dirt over a distance of six and one-half furlongs.

The race was named in honor of Deputy Minister

Deputy Minister (horse)

Deputy Minister was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred horse racing Champion. At age two, he won eight out of his nine starts and was voted the 1981 Sovereign and Eclipse Award winner as North American Champion 2-Yr-Old, and was also voted Canada's Sovereign Award for Horse of the Year...

 who raced in Florida and won Gulfstream Park's Donn Handicap

Donn Handicap

The Donn Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in late January/early February at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida.The race is named after the Donn family, who for many years owned and operated the racetrack....

. Deputy Minister was the 1981 American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt and the Canadian Two-Year Old Champion

Sovereign Award for Champion 2-Year-Old Male Horse

The Canadian Champion Two-Year-Old Coltis a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing honor. Created in 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada, it is part of the Sovereign Awards program and is awarded annually to the top 2-Year-Old male Thoroughbred horse competing in Canada.Past winners: -References:*...

 and Canadian Horse of the Year and was the Leading sire in North America

Leading sire in North America

The list below shows the leading sire of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prizemoney won by the sire's progeny during the year...

 in 1997 and 1998 and the Leading broodmare sire in North America

Leading broodmare sire in North America

The list below shows the leading Thoroughbred sire of broodmares in North America for each year since 1924. This is determined by the amount of prizemoney won during the year by racehorses which were foaled by a daughter of the sire.-----References:* *...

 in 2007.

Since inception, the event has been contested at different distances:

• 6 furlongs: 1994-1998
• 6.5 furlongs : 2000 to present
• 7 furlongs : 1990-1993, 1998-1999

The race is not on the 2008 list of stakes races at Gulfstream Park.

Records

Speed record: (at current distance of 6.5 furlongs

• 1:15.17 - Native Heir (2003)

Winners since 2000

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
2007	Keyed Entry Keyed Entry Keyed Entry is a thoroughbred horse. As a foal of 2003, he was a possible contender for the Triple Crown in 2006.-Connections:Keyed Entry is owned by Starlight Stables. He is trained by Todd Pletcher and is ridden by John Velazquez. He was bred in Kentucky by Oakbrook Farm.-Races:...	4	John Velazquez	Anthony J. Sciametta, Jr.	Starlight Stable et al.	1:15:72
2006	Universal Form	5	Manoel Cruz	Elliston Rolle	Universal Xperience	1:16.48
2005	Medallist	4	Jose Santos	H. Allen Jerkens H. Allen Jerkens Harry Allen Jerkens is an American Thoroughbred race horse Hall of Fame trainer.Jerkens' father owned a riding academy on Long Island that led to his interest in horse racing and in 1950 he trained his first winner. Sometimes called the "Giant Killer", he is best known for his upsets...	Robert Clay	1:15.62
2004	Alke Alkè Alkè is an Italian truck, electric vehicles, and diesel engine manufacturer, based in Padua, Italy. The company was created in 1992.- Electric vehicles :...	4	John Velazquez	Todd A. Pletcher	K. D. English/A. Braun	1:15.80
2003	Native Heir	5	Cornelio Velasquez Cornelio Velásquez Cornelio H. Velásquez is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. He was introduced to horse racing at age fifteen by trainer Carlos Salazar Guardia in his native Panama and enrolled in the national jockey school...	Mark Shuman	Michael Gill	1:15.17
2002	Fappies Notebook	5	Jorge Chavez Jorge Chávez Jorge Chávez Dartnell , also known as Géo Chávez, was a Franco – Peruvian aviator. At a young age, he achieved fame for his aeronautical feats...	Manny Tortora	Irving & Marjorie Cowan	1:16.19
2001	Istintaj	5	Jerry Bailey	Mark Hennig	Shadwell Racing Shadwell Racing Shadwell Racing is the Thoroughbred horse racing operations of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai.Introduced to Thoroughbred flat racing while a student in the United Kingdom, Sheikh Hamdan established his first racing stable there in 1981...	1:16.08
2000	Deep Gold Deep Gold -External links:*...	4	John Velazquez	Bernie Flint	N. Chowhan & J. L. Millan	1:15.89