The Matchmaker Stakes is an 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...

 held annually at Monmouth Park Racetrack

Monmouth Park Racetrack

Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease as a partnership with Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City.Monmouth Park's marquee event...

 in Oceanport, New Jersey

Oceanport, New Jersey

Oceanport is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 5,832.Oceanport was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 6, 1920, from portions of Eatontown Township , based on the results of a...

. The 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...

 race is open to Fillies and Mares, Three-years-old & up and is run on turf

Grass

Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...

 over a distance of 1⅛ miles (9 furlongs).

Inaugurated in 1967 at Atlantic City Race Course

Atlantic City Race Course

The Atlantic City Race Course , formerly the Atlantic City Race Track, is a thoroughbred horse race track located in the Mays Landing section of Hamilton Township, in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The track is located off the Black Horse Pike next to the Hamilton Mall...

, the race was run on dirt from 1967 to 1978 and again in 1983. Run at 1 3/16 miles from 1967 through 1996, the race was moved to Monmouth Park in 1997. Until 2004, it was known as the Matchmaker Handicap and was run in mid June until being made part of the Haskell Invitational

Haskell Invitational Handicap

The Resorts Casino & Hotel Haskell Invitational is an American Grade I race for thoroughbred horses. In 1968, the Board of Directors of Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey honored its former President and Chairman Amory L. Haskell with the Amory L. Haskell Handicap, a race for older...

 day held on the first Sunday in August.

Taylor Made Stallions has sponsored the Matchmaker since 2005.

Only one horse has ever won this race twice. Allaire du Pont's

Allaire du Pont

Allaire du Pont was an American sportswoman and a member of the prominent French-American Du Pont family of chemical manufacturers who is most remembered as the owner of the Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame champion, Kelso....

 filly

Filly

A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....

, Politely

Politely

Politely was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. She was bred by Allaire du Pont and raced under her Bohemia Stable banner. Her sire, Amerigo, a son of the great Nearco, was a stakes winner of races in England and the United States including the Coventry Stakes, New York Handicap and the San Juan...

, accomplished the feat with back-to-back victories in the first two runnings.

In 2009, the Matchmaker was taken off the turf because of heavy rain in New Jersey earlier in the day. Originally carded as a grade III event, the Matchmaker loses its graded status pending a final decision by the American Graded Stakes Committee.

Records

Time record: (at current 1⅛ miles om turf)

• 1:46.19 - Batique (2001)

Most wins:

• 2 - Politely
  Politely
  Politely was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. She was bred by Allaire du Pont and raced under her Bohemia Stable banner. Her sire, Amerigo, a son of the great Nearco, was a stakes winner of races in England and the United States including the Coventry Stakes, New York Handicap and the San Juan...
  
   (1967, 1968)

Most wins by a jockey

Jockey

A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...

:

• 3 - Laffit Pincay, Jr.
  Laffit Pincay, Jr.
  Laffit Alejandro Pincay, Jr. is a flat racing's all-time winningest jockey. He competed primarily in the United States.-Career:...
  
   (1972, 1974, 1991)

Winners of the Matchmaker Stakes since 1997

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
2011	Romacaca	5	E. T. Baird	Nick Canani	Frank Carl Calabrese	1:46.54
2010	Unbridled Essence	4	Paco Lopez	Gregory D. Sacco	Red Oak Stables	1:47.97
2009	Captain's Lover	5	John Velazquez	Todd Pletcher Todd Pletcher Todd Pletcher is a leading American thoroughbred horse trainer. He has won four consecutive Eclipse Awards as outstanding Trainer of the Year, while topping the leader board in purse earnings in 2004, 2005, and 2006. His horse Super Saver won the 2010 Kentucky Derby, the first of his 24 horses...	Team Valor International	1:51.60
2008	J'ray	5	Joe Bravo Joe Bravo (jockey) Joe Bravo is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. The son and grandson of jockeys, he began his professional career in Thoroughbred flat racing at Calder Race Course in Miami Gardens, Florida during the latter end of 1988.According to his NTRA profile, Joe Bravo has dominated the New...	Todd A. Pletcher	Lawrence Goichman	1:46.39
2007	Roshani	4	Garrett Gomez	Todd A. Pletcher	Ben McElroy	1:47.55
2006	Ready's Gal	4	John R. Velazquez	Todd A. Pletcher	James T. Scatuorchio	1:48.77
2005	Love Match	5	Javier Castellano Javier Castellano Javier Castellano is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing.Castellano began his riding career in his native Venezuela in 1996 and in June 1997 moved to the United States where rode at race tracks in southern Florida until 2001 when he moved to race on the New York State racing circuit.In...	John C. Kimmel John C. Kimmel John C. Kimmel is an American thoroughbred racehorse trainer. He holds a pre-med undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder and he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School in 1980.-References:**...	Anne Wrenn Poulson	1:50.20
2004	Where We Left Off	4	Corey Nakatani Corey Nakatani Corey S. Nakatani is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He got his big break in 1990 when he rode Itsallgreektome to win big stakes races.Nakatani currently resides at Belmont Park...	Christophe Clement Christophe Clement Christophe Clement is a Thoroughbred horse trainer in the United States.- Racing background :Christophe Clement initially acquired his training skills from father Miguel, a leading trainer in France, Christophe later worked for the prominent French racing family of trainer Alec Head...	Moyglare Stud	1:48.80
2003	Volga	5	Joe Bravo Joe Bravo (jockey) Joe Bravo is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. The son and grandson of jockeys, he began his professional career in Thoroughbred flat racing at Calder Race Course in Miami Gardens, Florida during the latter end of 1988.According to his NTRA profile, Joe Bravo has dominated the New...	Christophe Clement Christophe Clement Christophe Clement is a Thoroughbred horse trainer in the United States.- Racing background :Christophe Clement initially acquired his training skills from father Miguel, a leading trainer in France, Christophe later worked for the prominent French racing family of trainer Alec Head...	H. Joseph Allen H. Joseph Allen H. Joseph Allen is an American businessman and Thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder.A graduate of the University of Michigan, Allen is a partner with his cousin Peter M. Brant in the privately owned newsprint company, Brant-Allen Industries, Inc...	1:48.20
2002	Clearly A Queen	5	Eibar Coa Eibar Coa Eibar Coa Monteverde is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. A five-time judo champion in his teens, he attended jockey school from 1989 to 1991 then began his professional riding career in 1992...	Teresa Pompay	John A. Franks John A. Franks John Franks was an American businessman and a Thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder. A native of Haughton, Louisiana, he earned a degree in geology from Louisiana State University. In 1962, he founded the highly successful Franks Petroleum Inc. and later invested in real estate with Franks...	1:47.76
2001	Batique	5	Jose Ferrer Jose C. Ferrer Jose C. Ferrer is an American jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. He began riding in the United States in 1983 at Calder Race Course in Florida then at Monmouth Park and the Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey. On November 24, 1983 Ferrer became the first jockey to win five races on a single card...	Laird George	Helen K. Groves	1:46.19
2000	Horatia	4	Jose Santos	Christophe Clement Christophe Clement Christophe Clement is a Thoroughbred horse trainer in the United States.- Racing background :Christophe Clement initially acquired his training skills from father Miguel, a leading trainer in France, Christophe later worked for the prominent French racing family of trainer Alec Head...	Gerald W. Leigh	1:47.52
1999	Natalie Too	5	Joe Bravo Joe Bravo (jockey) Joe Bravo is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. The son and grandson of jockeys, he began his professional career in Thoroughbred flat racing at Calder Race Course in Miami Gardens, Florida during the latter end of 1988.According to his NTRA profile, Joe Bravo has dominated the New...	D. Wayne Lukas D. Wayne Lukas Darrell Wayne Lukas is a former educator who became one of the most successful horse trainers in American Thoroughbred horse racing history and a U.S...	Padua Stables	1:46.81
1998	Bursting Forth	4	Mario Verge	H. Graham Motion H. Graham Motion H. Graham Motion is an American horse trainer, notable for his work with 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom and Better Talk Now. Motion started out training and winning with his own Thoroughbred horses at age 29, his first win was with Bounding Daisy in March 1993 at Laurel Park...	Sam Huff Sam Huff Robert Lee "Sam" Huff is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League for the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982....	1:48.46
1997	Fleur de Nuit	4	Julie Krone Julie Krone Julie Krone , is a retired American jockey. In 1993, she became the first female jockey to win a Triple Crown race when she captured the Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair...	Joseph H. Pierce, Jr.	Robert Greenbaum	1:48.91