For the better part of four decades, the number 11 held significance in the sport of Thoroughbred racing. After Affirmed swept the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes in 1978, the number of Triple Crown winners expanded to 11 and it would not be until 2015 that the exclusive club added a new member in American Pharoah, followed by Justify in 2018.

On the West Coast, that same number has its own place of prominence in the Santa Anita Derby. Since its first running in 1935, the Santa Anita Derby has produced 19 winners of the run for the roses, and 11 of them share a bond as horses that have scored victories in both the Santa Anita Derby and Kentucky Derby.

To achieve this double is to possess both class and stamina. What these 11 Thoroughbreds accomplished goes beyond purse money and trophies. Every single one of them is the subject of a story that has reached subsequent generations. Each individual story is different, yet each one is connected by this special accomplishment. Does 2024 Santa Anita Derby winner Stronghold have what it takes to join this exclusive club?

These are the 11 prior horses to complete the Santa Anita Derby-Kentucky Derby double.

Hill Gail (1952)

Bull Lea, the legendary foundation sire for Calumet Farm, might be best known for fathering 1948 Triple Crown champion Citation, but he had additional success in producing Kentucky Derby winners. After Citation came Hill Gail, who had a mixed bag of results at 2 but showed his class as he took the Washington Park Futurity and defeated future Horse of the Year Tom Fool. When he headed to California for the Kentucky Derby prep season, more stakes success awaited him. Hill Gail took the San Vicente Stakes in early January and, after losses in the San Gabriel and the San Felipe, Hill Gail returned to the winner’s circle in the Santa Anita Derby before going on to become that year’s Kentucky Derby victor, making him the charter member of the Santa Anita Derby-Kentucky Derby winner’s club. He also became the first horse from the fabled Calumet Farm to emerge as a Santa Anita Derby winner and would be the final Kentucky Derby winner to be ridden by “The Master,” Eddie Arcaro.

Determine (1954)

Trainer William Molter’s best-known racehorse is the awesome Round Table but Determine is the one who gave this iconic Southern California conditioner his only Kentucky Derby victory. Determine did not break his maiden until his fifth start, but then flourished late in his 2-year-old season when sent to Northern California. When he returned to Southern California for his 3-year-old campaign in 1954, Determine took second in the San Vicente Stakes and added victories in the San Gabriel Stakes and San Felipe Handicap to his resume before finishing up his prep season with a Santa Anita Derby triumph while matching Your Host’s then-record time of 1:48 4/5. Later, Determine defeated 16 rivals to win the first leg of the Triple Crown.

Swaps (1955)

Swaps, jockey William Shoemaker, and connections after the 1955 Kentucky Derby. (BloodHorse Library)

Considered by many as the greatest California-bred horse of all time, Swaps will always be synonymous with Hollywood Park thanks to his amazing record at the Track of the Lakes and Flowers. He was also excellent at Santa Anita, never losing in four starts at the Arcadia venue.

Three of those outings happened during the winter of 1955, and that period served as a showcase for the all-around talent Swaps possessed. First, he defeated allowance company before taking the San Vicente Stakes by 3 ½ lengths on a muddy track. That left the Santa Anita Derby, which served as the first two-turn test for the chestnut colt. Teaming with Johnny Longden for the only time in his career, Swaps showed he could handle the 1 1/8-mile distance in defeating 13 opponents. That set up a visit to Churchill Downs where Swaps won an allowance race before defeating the formidable Nashua under the Twin Spires on Derby day. The moment turned Swaps into one of the most significant figures in racing’s East-West rivalry, and he also gave Bill Shoemaker his first of four Kentucky Derby scores. Swaps made history. He became only the second Cal-bred after Morvich (1922) to win the Kentucky Derby while becoming the first Cal-bred to complete the Santa Anita Derby-Kentucky Derby sweep.

Lucky Debonair (1965)

The horse who would give jockey Bill Shoemaker his third Kentucky Derby victory began his career back east, but it would not be until he first competed at Santa Anita in 1965 that he broke his maiden and embarked on his path down the Kentucky Derby trail. Lucky Debonair hardly did anything wrong that winter. He built on that first victory by taking an allowance contest and then the San Vicente Handicap. After a runner-up result in the San Felipe Handicap, Lucky Debonair could not be stopped in the Santa Anita Derby. He set a new stakes record of 1:47 flat for the 1 1/8-mile distance. With that momentum in his corner, Lucky Debonair took the Blue Grass Stakes before prevailing by a neck on the first Saturday in May. While the Kentucky Derby stands as his most prestigious win, Lucky Debonair remains one of the great figures of the Santa Anita Derby because his performance has stood the test of time. Only Sham (1973) and Indian Charlie (1998) have equaled Lucky Debonair’s clocking of 1:47.

Majestic Prince (1969)

Majestic Prince wins the 1969 Kentucky Derby. (Courtesy of Keeneland Library)

When Johnny Longden retired from his magnificent riding career in 1966, he could call himself the owner of five Santa Anita Derby victories. Little did he know that another one was waiting for him down the road as a trainer. Majestic Prince, a son of Raise a Native (who has long been a presence in the bloodlines of many Kentucky Derby winners) with a rugged elegance and superb pedigree, was invincible at Santa Anita in the winter of 1969. He won the Los Feliz Stakes, the San Vicente Stakes on a muddy track, and then aced his routing debut in the San Jacinto Stakes on a track labeled good. That set him up for the Santa Anita Derby, where he tracked the leaders before leaving everyone far behind in the stretch to win by an astounding eight lengths. That gave Longden the distinction of being the first person to win the Santa Anita Derby as both a jockey and trainer. Longden, known as “The Pumper” in his riding days, would experience a similar distinction later that spring when unbeaten Majestic Prince held off a valiant Arts and Letters in the closing moments of the Kentucky Derby to wear the garland of roses. More than a half-century later, Longden is still the lone figure to win the May classic as a rider and conditioner.

Affirmed (1978)

A son of Exclusive Native, Affirmed was a Florida-bred who won at four racetracks during his freshman season. His record of seven wins in nine starts (including three against his great rival  Alydar) netted him champion 2-year-old male honors for 1977. Trainer Lazaro Barrera sent Affirmed to Santa Anita in the winter of 1978 to prepare for the Kentucky Derby. He beat allowance foes before taking the San Felipe Handicap, but his magnum opus during the prep season came in the Santa Anita Derby. Heavily favored in the field of 12, Affirmed was in a class of his own as he and Laffit Pincay, Jr. opened up in the stretch en route to a dominant eight-length score. That set Affirmed on course for his epic battles with Alydar later that spring, which resulted in wins by close margins in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes (he also captured the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby before going to Louisville). When all was said and done, Affirmed became the first horse to win the Santa Anita Derby and go on to sweep the Triple Crown.

Winning Colors (1988)

Before heading to Louisville, this roan filly put together a memorable Santa Anita campaign during the track’s 1987-’88 winter-spring meet. Following an allowance score, Winning Colors rattled off a victory in the La Centinela Stakes and a second in the Grade 1 Las Virgenes before outclassing the field by eight lengths in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks. Instead of heading for the Kentucky Oaks, Winning Colors was sent to the Santa Anita Derby. Though it was not unprecedented for a filly to win California’s top Kentucky Derby prep race, it had been decades since one had done it. Winning Colors thrived with history on the line. Under the guidance of trainer D. Wayne Lukas, Winning Colors and Gary Stevens left everyone in their dust by 7 1/2 lengths, giving her the distinction of being only the second horse to sweep the Santa Anita Oaks and Santa Anita Derby, joining Silver Spoon (1959). And the Kentucky Derby? History was made on that day as well. Winning Colors took the early lead and went on to become the third filly to capture the Kentucky Derby. She is the only filly to complete the Santa Anita Derby-Kentucky Derby double.

Sunday Silence (1989)

An ultra-consistent horse, Sunday Silence never finished worse than second in his 14 career starts. A promising colt during his first year at the races, Sunday Silence’s Kentucky Derby prep season did not begin until March 1989, but after defeating allowance company, Sunday Silence left no doubt as to who the top horse was in the Santa Anita Derby. Taking charge before the stretch, the son of Halo had no equal that spring day in Arcadia as he became the subject of the most famous call in the race’s history when then-track announcer Trevor Denman remarked, “I think the Derby’s over!” Denman was absolutely right as Sunday Silence surged away from the field near the top of the stretch to come home an 11-length winner in what has become one of the most popular and endearing moments in Santa Anita Derby history.

Trained by Charlie Whittingham, who had experienced Kentucky Derby glory for the first time three years earlier with Ferdinand, Sunday Silence arrived at Churchill Downs for his long-awaited showdown with Easy Goer and proved to be the better horse that day with a win in the Derby. Sunday Silence is the only horse to sweep the Santa Anita Derby, Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Breeders’ Cup Classic.

I’ll Have Another (2012)

The word “overlooked” could be associated with this chestnut colt by Flower Alley. He never went favored in any of his seven career starts, and he surprised race fans more than once by winning at large odds. He shocked the Santa Anita crowd by winning at 43.30-1 odds in the 2012 Robert B. Lewis Stakes before making his next start in the Santa Anita Derby, in which he battled with Creative Cause to pull out a gutsy win by a nose to set up a trip to Louisville. Despite winning southern California’s biggest Kentucky Derby prep race, I’ll Have Another went off as a 15.30-1 longshot on the first Saturday in May as Bodemeister took the spotlight thanks to his big wins in Arkansas. Bodemeister took early command of the Kentucky Derby but I’ll Have Another emerged from the pack and charged valiantly under the Twin Spires to catch the favorite late and build on what would turn out to be his champion 3-year-old male season. Of all these 11 Santa Anita Derby-Kentucky Derby winners, I’ll Have Another stands as the biggest longshot in the group to win the run for the roses.

California Chrome (2014)

Mike Sekulic photo

Underdogs are an integral part of any sport and Thoroughbred racing is no exception. As the winter of 2014 progressed, an unlikely Kentucky Derby contender was introduced in the form of California Chrome. Trained by longtime California stalwart Art Sherman and bred and co-owned by Steve Coburn and Perry Martin, this Lucky Pulpit colt had put together some minor stakes victories as a 2-year-old. Despite the early success, California Chrome was not expected to be a contender for the spring classics. His sire had never won beyond 5 1/2 furlongs and his dam had only one victory, but much like I’ll Have Another two years prior, California Chrome just refused to lose during his prep season. He posted victories in the California Cup Derby and San Felipe Stakes and took California racing by storm in the Santa Anita Derby as he and Victor Espinoza enjoyed an excellent tracking trip before winning the race handily by 5 ¼ lengths. When the most popular Cal-bred in years left the Kentucky Derby starting gate in his next start, the colt showed his prior wins were no fluke as he made history as the first Cal-bred to win the Kentucky Derby since Decidedly in 1962. Moreover, he became the first Cal-bred to sweep both Derbys since Swaps 59 years earlier. The moment was particularly special for Sherman, as he had been an exercise rider for Swaps in his youth.

Justify (2018)

Justify’s rise to the top of the sport was as brilliant as it was quick. After not racing as a 2-year-old, the son of Scat Daddy debuted at Santa Anita in February 2018 and broke his maiden by 9 ½ lengths and then won a one-mile allowance three weeks later on an “off” track in a complete romp in his first try at routing. That buzz gave him top billing as the odds-on favorite in the Santa Anita Derby. Leading from start to finish, Justify owned the moment as he turned away chief rival Bolt d’Oro in the stretch before winning in front of an amazed crowd. He carried that momentum to Churchill Downs, where he dispatched the field to become the first horse since Apollo in 1882 to capture the Kentucky Derby despite not racing as a juvenile. That set Justify up to run the table to become the latest Triple Crown winner and the only one to retire undefeated. Perhaps appropriately, Justify swept the Santa Anita Derby and the Triple Crown on the 40-year anniversary of Affirmed’s feat.

These are the Elite 11 who are woven into the timeline of Thoroughbred racing as winners of both the Kentucky Derby and the Santa Anita Derby.