The Sunshine Millions Sprint is a 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...

 for thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 horses held in January at Santa Anita Park

Santa Anita Park

Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...

 in Arcadia, California

Arcadia, California

Arcadia is an affluent city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and located approximately northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains....

 or 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...

. Half the eight races of the Sunshine Millions are run at one track and half at the other.

Open to four-year-olds and older willing to race six furlong

Furlong

A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, or 10 chains. The exact value of the furlong varies slightly among English-speaking countries....

s on the dirt, the Sunshine Millions Sprint is an ungraded stakes

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...

 event but carries a purse of $300,000. This race is also known as the Padua Stables Sprint (in 2006) as part of the eight-race Sunshine Millions

Sunshine Millions

The Sunshine Millions is a series of American races for thoroughbred horses held in January at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California or at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida...

 series.

In its 9th running in 2011, the series of races called the Sunshine Millions are restricted to horses bred either in Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 or in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 and is the brainchild of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association

California Thoroughbred Breeders Association

The California Thoroughbred Breeders Association , founded in 1937, is a non-profit organization committed to the advancement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing in California. It is governed by a board of 16 directors elected by the association's general membership...

, the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association, Inc., Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park, and Magna Entertainment Corporation.

Past winners

• 2011 - Amazombie (Cal-bred) (Mike E. Smith)
• 2010 - This Ones for Phil (Fla-bred) (John Velazquez)
• 2009 - Georgie Boy (Cal-bred) (Garrett Gomez)
• 2008 - Benny the Bull (Fla-bred) (Edgar Prado) (Richard E. Dutrow, Jr.)
• 2007 - Smokey Stover (Fla-bred) (Aaron Gryder
  Aaron Gryder
  Aaron Tod Gryder is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey.Growing up fifteen minutes away from the Santa Anita racetrack, as a boy Gryder had no contact with horses other than his father and his grandparents' interest in attending the nearby races...
  
  )
• 2006 - Bordonaro (Cal-bred) (Pat Valenzuela
  Pat Valenzuela
  Patrick Angel Valenzuela is an American thoroughbred horse racing jockey. Born into a racing family, his father plus three of his uncles, including Ismael Valenzuela, were jockeys. He rode his first career winner on November 10, 1978, at Sunland Park Racetrack in Sunland Park, New Mexico...
  
  )
• 2005 - Red Warrior (Cal-bred) (Garrett Gomez)
• 2004 - Shake You Down (Fla-bred) (Mike Luzzi
  Mike Luzzi
  Michael Jude Luzzi is an American jockey. He grew up near Delaware Park Racetrack where his grandfather, trainer Buddy Raines, had a major role in raising him and his brother John who also became a jockey...
  
  )
• 2003 - Captain Squire (Fla-bred) (Alex Solis
  Alex Solis
  Alex O. Solis is a jockey based in the United States. He currently lives in Glendora, California and rides predominantly in Southern California...
  
  )