the 1956 winner Porterhouse who was the 1953 US Champion Two-Year-Old Male. Revel, the 1961 winner carried 127 pounds defeating the 1960 winner Ole Fols by lengths as the 3/2 favorite. In 1963 Cyrano easily defeated Sledge by three lengths with the favorite Olden Times a further lengths away setting a new track record of 1:08 for the distance. US Hall of Famer Native Diver won the 1964 rendition of the event in front of 70,024 on Opening Day. The following year Native Diver carried a mammoth 129 pounds and led throughout to win by a neck as the 1/2on favorite. The event was scheduled to be held on Opening Day in 1969 but due to a strike by racetrack employees the race was not run. The event was rescheduled for later in January 1970 but the strike continued until early February and the race was canceled. For the 1970–71 Winter Meeting the event was scheduled on Saturday, 2 January 1971 for horses four-years-old or older. Hence, the event was also not held in 1970. The great Ack Ack was assigned 129 pounds and started as the 4/5 odds-on favorite but was soundly beaten by Jungle Savage by three lengths. The following Winter Meeting (1971–72) the event was scheduled in December and conditions were for three-year-olds and older. King of Cricket won by a stakes record margin of six lengths. Classification and Breeders' Cup era In 1973 when the American Graded Stakes Committee began the classification of US thoroughbred races the event was installed with Grade III status. The event held that status for one year in 1974 before the event was downgraded to Listed. The winner of the 1974 rendition, Ancient Title carried 126 pounds to victory as an 11/10 favorite atoning for his third place in the previous year. Ancient Title would again run third in 1976 to the three-year-old Maheras. From 1985 until 2011 both Hollywood Park and Santa Anita Park Administration carded an event in honor of Ancient Title known as the Ancient Title Handicap. Today the event is known as the Grade II Santa Anita Sprint Championship, run over the same distance as the Palos Verdes Stakes but is held in the fall. In 1982 with a massive crowd of 69,293 the event was won by Chinook Pass who easily won by three lengths and equaled the track record of 1:07. Chinook Pass would continue