Delaware Handicap (Saratoga)

Last updated
Delaware Handicap
Discontinued handicap race
Location Saratoga Race Course, Saratoga Springs, New York,
United States
Inaugurated1901
Race type Thoroughbred - Flat racing
Race information
Distance1 mile (8 furlong)
SurfaceDirt
Trackleft-handed
Qualification3-year-olds and up

The Delaware Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race held between 1901 and 1937 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. An event for horses of either sex age three and older, it was contested on dirt over a distance of one mile. While fillies accounted for just under a third of the winners, their victories were marked by a number of dominating performances.

Contents

Historical notes

First run on August 17, 1901, the race was won by Frank Farrell's three-year-old colt, Blues. The distance for this inaugural event was set at a mile and one-sixteenth after which it would be permanently shortened to one mile. [1]

The sole two-time winner of the Delaware Handicap was John Sanford's very good filly Molly Brant who won in 1904 and 1905. Owner John Sanford, in partnership with father Stephen Sanford, had won the 1902 edition and John would win it for a record fourth time in 1907. [2]

The 1908 passage of the Hart–Agnew anti-betting legislation by the New York Legislature under Republican Governor Charles Evans Hughes led to a state-wide shutdown of racing in 1911 and 1912. [3] [4] A February 21, 1913 ruling by the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division saw horse racing return in 1913. [5]

Gifford Cochran's fleet filly Fairy Wand, ridden by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Clarence Kummer, won the 1919 Delaware Handicap in a time of 1:36 1/5 which equaled the American record for the one-mile distance. [6]

On August 13, 1937, William Ziegler Jr.'s Esposa easily captured the thirty-fifth and final running of the Delaware Handicap. [7] Esposa would go on to earn recognition as that year's American Champion Older Female Horse featured by her win in November's Bowie Handicap, a mile and five-eighths endurance test in which she broke the Pimlico track record while beating the mighty Seabiscuit. Esposa would prove herself again in 1938 when she would repeat as the U.S. Champion. [8] [9]

Records

Speed record:

Most wins:

Most wins by a jockey:

Most wins by a trainer:

Most wins by an owner:

Winners

YearWinnerAgeJockeyTrainerOwner
Dist.
(Miles)
TimeWin $
1937 Esposa 5 Nick Wall Mathew P. Brady William Ziegler Jr. 1 m1:37.80$3,025
1936Vicaress4 Tommy Malley James E. Fitzsimmons Belair Stud Stable 1 m1:38.20$3,125
1935Only One6Robert MerrittPhilip M. Walker Polly Brooks Howe 1 m1:38.00$3,150
1934Kievex3 Wayne D. Wright George E. PhillipsWilliam Graham1 m1:39.60$3,050
1933Tambour5 John Gilbert Preston M. Burch Preston M. Burch 1 m1:38.40$3,270
1932Flagstone4Robert LeischmanWilliam H. BrooksLinton Farms Stable (George M. Seglin)1 m1:37.80$3,600
1931Mr. Sponge4 Mack Garner Henry McDaniel Joseph E. Widener 1 m1:36.60$4,150
1930 Flying Heels 3 Willie Kelsay Henry McDaniel Gifford A. Cochran 1 m1:38.60$4,150
1929Buddy Bauer5 Eddie Legere Herbert J. Thompson Edward R. Bradley 1 m1:37.00$4,450
1928Byrd4 Anthony Pascuma Alex Gordon Fair Stable 1 m1:42.00$4,475
1927 Light Carbine 4Fred StevensMichael J. DunlevyIra B. Humphreys1 m1:40.60$4,475
1926 Single Foot 4 Clarence Turner Harry Rites J. Edwin Griffith1 m1:40.00$4,875
1925Blind Play4 John Maiben Louis Feustel Log Cabin Stable 1 m1:38.80$4,600
1924 Sunsini 4 Willie Kelsay Frank M. Bray Lilane Stable (Mrs. William L. Walker)1 m1:40.40$5,025
1923Wilderness3 Benny Marinelli Thomas J. Healey Richard T.Wilson Jr. 1 m1:41.00$4,650
1922Blazes5 Clarence Kummer William M. Garth Joshua S. Cosden 1 m1:43.40$4,375
1921Idle Dell3George W. Penman Scott P. Harlan Greentree Stable 1 m1:38.20$4,975
1920 Boniface 5 Earl Sande H. Guy Bedwell J. K. L. Ross 1 m1:40.80$3,800
1919Fairy Wand5 Clarence Kummer James N. Evans Gifford A. Cochran 1 m1:36.20$2,675
1918 Sun Briar 3 Willie Knapp Henry McDaniel Willis Sharpe Kilmer 1 m1:36.20$2,675
1917 Old Rosebud 6George Molesworth Frank D. Weir Hamilton C. Applegate 1 m1:38.40$2,950
1916 Pennant 5 Joe Notter James G. Rowe Sr. Harry Payne Whitney 1 m1:37.60$1,950
1915Star Jasmine6 Jack Martin Thomas Clay McDowell Thomas Clay McDowell 1 m1:43.40$1,050
1914Tartar4Walter Taylor Thomas J. Healey Montpelier Stable 1 m1:37.60$1,655
1913Lahore5 Charles Borel Walter S. HouseJohn O. Talbott1 m1:39.80$2,285
1912No races held due to the Hart–Agnew Law.
1911
1910Sir John Johnson5 Vincent Powers Dave Woodford Beverwyck Stable (Frank J. Nolan)1 m1:40.00$2,845
1909Field Mouse3 Joe McCahey A. Jack Joyner August Belmont Jr. 1 m1:42.40$1,385
1908Beaucoup3 Joe McCahey Thomas J. Healey Montpelier Stable 1 m1:40.20$530
1907Vails3Louis Beckman William Hayward Jr. John Sanford 1 m1:38.00$2,200
1906 Dandelion 4 LaVerne Sewell John E. Madden Francis R. Hitchcock 1 m1:38.60$1,835
1905 Molly Brant 5 Willie Knapp Hubert H. Hyner John Sanford 1 m1:39.40$2,200
1904 Molly Brant 4 Lucien Lyne Hubert H. Hyner John Sanford 1 m1:39.60$2,535
1903Gimcrack3Willie Gannon James G. Rowe Sr. James R. Keene 1 m1:46.40$2,400
1902Chuctanunda4 George M. Odom William Hayward Sr. S. Sanford & Son * 1 m1:38.00$2,305
1901 Blues 3 Willie Shaw Thomas Welsh Frank J. Farrell 1-1/16 m1:47.60$1,910

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References

  1. "Blues Scores an Easy Victory in the Delaware Handicap". Chicago Tribune . 1901-08-18. p. 19. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
  2. "Molly Brant Wins Delaware Handicap". New York Times . 1905-08-09. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  3. "Penalties in the New York Bills". Daily Racing Form. 1908-01-18. Retrieved 2018-10-26 via University of Kentucky Archives.
  4. "Race Track Bill Defeated In Senate; Measure Modifying Directors' Liability for Gambling Fails of Passage". The New York Times. July 14, 1911. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  5. "Oral Betting Held Legal: Appellate Division of New York Supreme Court Renders Important Decision". Daily Racing Form. 1913-02-22. Retrieved 2019-06-29 via University of Kentucky Archives.
  6. "American Mile Record Tied: Fairy Wand Wins the Delaware Handicap at a Mile in 1:36 1-5". Daily Racing Form. 1919-08-06. Retrieved 2021-02-16 via University of Kentucky Archives.
  7. "Esposa First in Handicap Event". Herald & Review . 1937-08-14. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  8. "Esposa Wins Handicap in Record Time". Daily Colonist . 1937-11-12. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  9. The Bloodhorse.com Champion's history charts Archived September 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine