Del Mar racetrack in California has long been known as a summer proving ground for talented 2-year-old Thoroughbreds, and near the end of every summer meet the track hosts two prestigious races for the best horses in the division — the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity, open to both colts and fillies, and the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante, which is exclusively for fillies.

Nowadays, the Futurity is held just two days after the Debutante, making it impractical for any filly to seek a Debutante/Futurity double. But many years ago, the gap between the two races was longer, making it possible for a talented filly with ambitious connections to sweep both races.

Which is exactly what Althea did in 1983.

Bred and raced by the partnership of Helen Alexander, David Aykroyd, and Helen Groves, Althea showed talent early on. Trained by the future Hall of Famer trainer D. Wayne Lukas, the daughter of Alydar won her debut by 6 ½ lengths at Hollywood Park, and following a runner-up finish in the Grade 2 Landaluce Stakes at the same track, she foreshadowed her future by facing colts in the Grade 2 Juvenile Championship Stakes and crushing them by 10 lengths.

All of those races were sprints of three-quarters of a mile or less, so when Althea arrived at Del Mar to contest the Sept. 4 Del Mar Debutante — then conducted at a mile — she had to show the world that she was more than just a fast, early-maturing sprinter.

So what did she do? With Laffit Pincay in the saddle, Althea opened up a 10-length lead during the first quarter-mile, running her five rivals off their feet. Throwing down fast fractions of :22 3/5, :45 3/5, and 1:10 2/5, Althea only extended her lead as the race went on, eventually cruising past the finish line 15 lengths in front while stopping the clock in 1:36 flat.

Althea winning 1983 Del Mar Debutante. (Blood-Horse photo)

Althea’s easy victory brought back memories of Landalacue, another Lukas-trained runner that had won the Debutante by 6 ½ lengths the previous year. In an article by Bill Christine that appeared in the Sept. 5, 1983 edition of the Los Angeles Times, Lukas compared the two fillies, noting that Althea “is stronger and runs more freely. And she likes to work. Landaluce didn’t always have the capacity to train the way this filly does.”

Perhaps because of Althea’s eagerness to train and her tough-as-nails constitution, a plan was quickly hatched to bring Althea back just 10 days later to compete in the Del Mar Futurity, also held at a mile. Her presence seemed to scare away potential challengers, for only four other horses showed up to contest the race, and bettors — showing confidence in the filly — sent her off as the overwhelming favorite at odds of 3-10.

As it turned out, the other runners might have been better off staying in their barns. Flashing her impressive early speed, Althea cruised to the front under Pincay and posted fractions of :22 3/5, :45 4/5, and 1:10 2/5, very similar to her times from the Del Mar Debutante. But her finish would be even more impressive.

“I was just sitting there waiting for someone to come by but they never did,” said Pincay in a story by Tim Gillman in the Sept. 15 edition of the Los Angeles Times. “On the final turn, I finally started asking her and she responded.”

Althea’s response was to run the final quarter-mile in an impressive :24 2/5 seconds, blasting away from her opponents to win by 6 ½ lengths. In doing so, she became the first filly to sweep the Del Mar Debutante and the Del Mar Futurity, and more than three decades later, she remains the only member of that exclusive club.

Although Althea wouldn’t race beyond June of her 3-year-old year, she would achieve a few more career highlights prior to and post-retirement.

In 1984, she won the Grade 1 Santa Susana Stakes against fillies at Santa Anita, then shipped to Oaklawn Park and crushed males again in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby, winning by seven lengths in the track-record time of 1:46 4/5.

Althea also went on to a distinguished second career as a broodmare. She produced four stakes winners and is the grandam (maternal grandmother) of three Grade 1 winners (including prolific Claiborne Farm sire Arch, who died in January 2016) and United Arab Emirates Horse of the Year Festival of Light.

While the brevity of her career and a few disappointing races kept her from securing a legacy as one of the all-time greats, there’s no doubt that Del Mar during the summer of 1983, Althea was in a league of her own.