Scarsdale Handicap

Last updated
Scarsdale Handicap
Discontinued stakes race
Location Empire City Race Track
Yonkers, New York, USA
Inaugurated1918-1947
Race type Thoroughbred - Flat racing
Website
Race information
Distance1 mile, 70 yards (8.32 furlongs)
SurfaceDirt
TrackLeft-handed
QualificationThree-year-olds and up

The Scarsdale Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race open to horses age three and older first run on October 16, 1918, over a mile and seventy yards on dirt at Empire City Race Track in Yonkers, New York.

Contents

Historical notes

In its second year, the Scarsdale Handicap was run as the Westchester Handicap before reverting to its original name in 1920.

In 1942, Empire City Racetrack terminated flat racing and the facility reverted to hosting only harness racing events. After that, the Scarsdale Handicap was run at Jamaica Race Course in Jamaica, Queens, New York.

Race moments

The 1918 inaugural running was won by War Cloud, a three-year-old colt who had finished fourth in that year's Kentucky Derby, won the Preakness Stakes and ran second in the Belmont Stakes. Two months earlier future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Roamer had broken Salvator's record for the mile that had stood for twenty-eight years. As such, bettors sent War Cloud off as the 7-5 second choice behind 4-5 favorite Roamer. [1]

The recently acquired Seabiscuit got his first stakes race win for new owner Charles Howard's on September 7, 1936, in the Governor's Handicap at the Detroit Fairgrounds Racetrack and then won the Hendrie Handicap at the same track on September 26. The colt continued to show his real talent under the care of trainer Tom Smith and jockey Red Pollard with his win in the Scarsdale Handicap on October 24, 1936. [2]

Purchased for $100 by owner/trainer Tommy Heard, [3] in 1942 Boysy became the first horse to win the Scarsdale twice. He came back the next year to capture the race for the third straight time, going wire-to-wire in winning by three lengths. [4]

In the 1946 Scarsdale, Albert Snider, one of the most promising young riders of the time, rode Polynesian to victory. [5] Snider would go on to become a first-string jockey with Calumet Farm and in 1948 was the regular jockey for the great Citation. He was scheduled to ride Citation in the U.S. Triple Crown series but disappeared on March 5, 1948, while fishing off the coast of Florida with two friends. Despite a lengthy and intensive search, their bodies were never recovered. Snider's death opened the door for Eddie Arcaro to ride Citation to win the Triple Crown. [6]

The Scarsdale Handicap's twenty-eighth and final running in 1947 was won by With Pleasure who defeated a stellar field that included two future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductees and the previous year's American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse. It was Gallorette who finished second, with Double Jay in third, Donor fourth, and Stymie, the then richest racehorse in United States history who finished sixth. [7]

Race distances

Records

Speed record:

Most wins:

Most wins by a jockey:

Most wins by a trainer:

Most wins by an owner:

Winners

Year
Winner
Age
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Dist.
(Miles)
Time
1947With Pleasure4 Jack Westrope Thomas P. FlemingBrolite Farm (Oscar E. Breault)1M, 70Yds1:44.60
1946 Polynesian 4 Albert Snider Morris H. Dixon Gertrude T. Widener 1M, 70Yds1:42.20
1945Buzfuz3 Tommy Luther Joseph B. RosenSunshine Stable (Dan Chappell/Moze Rauzin)1M, 70Yds1:41.80
1944Seven Hearts4Paul KeiperW. Graves SparksJ. Graham Brown1M, 70Yds1:41.60
1943 Boysy 7 Steve Brooks Tommy Heard Tommy Heard1M, 70Yds1:43.00
1942Boysy6Darrell ClingmanTommy HeardTommy Heard1M, 70Yds1:44.60
1941Boysy5Jack WestropeTommy HeardTommy Heard1M, 70Yds1:42.20
1940Parasang3 Leon Haas James W. Healy C. V. Whitney 1M, 70Yds1:42.60
1939War Dog3 Johnny Longden Jack McPherson Falaise Stable 1M, 70Yds1:44.80
1938Clodion4Jack WestropeWalter A. CarterWalter A. Carter1M, 70Yds1:44.20
1937 Esposa 5 Nick Wall Matthew P. Brady William Ziegler Jr. 1M, 70Yds1:45.00
1936 Seabiscuit 3 Red Pollard Tom Smith Charles S. Howard 1M, 70Yds1:44.00
1935Psychic Bid3Mike Corona Robert A. Smith Brookmeade Stable 1M, 70Yds1:42.00
1934 King Saxon 3 Tommy Malley Pat KnebelkampPat Knebelkamp1M, 70Yds1:43.20
1932- 1933Race not held
1931Hibala3 Willie Kelsay Fred E. KraftFred E. Kraft1M, 70Yds1:47.60
1930 Questionnaire 3 Charles Kurtsinger Andy Schuttinger James Butler 1M, 70Yds1:45.20
1929Polydor3 Mack Garner William J. Spiers William Ziegler Jr. 1M, 70Yds1:43.80
1928Genie3Willie Kelsay Henry McDaniel Gifford A. Cochran 1M, 70Yds1:44.60
1927Black Panther3 John Maiben T. J. Healey Walter J. Salmon Sr. 1M, 70Yds1:45.60
1926Cloudland4John MaibenFrank E. BrownFrank E. Brown1M, 70Yds1:46.60
1925Blind Play4 Clarence Kummer Louis Feustel Log Cabin Stable 1M, 70Yds1:43.60
1924Lucky Play3Clarence KummerLouis Feustel August Belmont Jr. 1M1:39.40
1923Exodus5 Frank Coltiletti Scott P. Harlan Greentree Stable 1M1:38.80
1922 Tryster 4 Lawrence Lyke Scott P. HarlanWestmont Stable (Lawrence Waterbury II/J. Leonard Replogie)1M1:38.20
1921Yellow Hand4C. H. Miller A. J. Goldsborough Charles A. Stoneham 1M1:39.60
1920Cirrus4 Lavelle Ensor Sam Hildreth Sam Hildreth1M1:39.80
1919Hannibal3 James Butwell T. J. Healey Richard T. Wilson Jr. 1M1:40.40
1918 War Cloud 3 Johnny Loftus Walter B. Jennings A. Kingsley Macomber 1M, 70Yds1:43.00

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seabiscuit</span> American champion thoroughbred racehorse (1933–1947)

Seabiscuit was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a two-horse special at Pimlico and was voted American Horse of the Year for 1938.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Citation (horse)</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse (1945–1970)

Citation was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the eighth winner of the American Triple Crown. He won 16 consecutive stakes races and was the first horse in history to win US$1 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whirlaway</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse (1938–1953)

Whirlaway was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the fifth winner of the American Triple Crown. He also won the Travers Stakes after his Triple Crown sweep to become the first and only horse to win all four races.

The Pimlico Special is a Grade 3 American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of 1+316 miles held at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland in mid May. The race currently offers a purse of $250,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massachusetts Handicap</span> Former flat horse race

The Massachusetts Handicap, frequently referred to as the "MassCap", was a flat thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and up held annually at Suffolk Downs in East Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was an ungraded stakes race run over a distance of 9 furlongs on dirt. The race received Grade III status by the American Graded Stakes Committee for 2009, but the race was never held. The MassCap was stripped of its graded status in 2011 as a result of not being run for two consecutive years.

The Queens County Handicap is an American Ungraded Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the second week of December at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. Open to horses age three years and older, it is contested on dirt at a distance of one and three-sixteenths miles.

The Gallant Fox Handicap is a discontinued Thoroughbred horse race in New York City which was run annually from 1939 through 2009. Hosted by the now defunct Jamaica Race Course in Jamaica, Queens from inception through 1957, it was then moved to Aqueduct Racetrack in the Borough of Ozone Park, Queens, New York. The race was open to horses age three and older and although contested on dirt at various distances for the most part it was a longer distance race.

The Havre de Grace Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race first run on the August 26, 1912 opening day of the new Havre de Grace Racetrack in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Although most of its runnings would take place in early fall, its final edition was run there on April 30, 1949. Due to Federal government wartime regulations, the 1943 edition was held at Laurel Park and in 1945 at Pimlico Race Course. A race for horses age three old or older, it was run on dirt over a distance of 1 1/8 miles with the exception of 1918 when it was set at 1 mile and 70 yards. From inception through 1939, the race was known as the Havre de Grace Cup Handicap.

The East View Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. It is restricted to fillies bred in the State of New York. Run in December, the race is contested on dirt over a distance of 1+116 miles.

The Potomac Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in the latter part of September at Havre de Grace Racetrack in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Open to three-year-old horses, it was raced on dirt at a distance of a mile-and-a-sixteenth.

Phalanx (1944–1971) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. In 1947, he won the Belmont Stakes and was voted American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse.

The Edgemere Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race. Inaugurated in 1901 at the old Aqueduct Racetrack, it was open to horses of all ages and contested on dirt at a distance of one mile and seventy yards. The following year the distance was changed to one mile and one furlong.

The New Rochelle Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race first run at a distance of seven furlongs on dirt in 1899 at Morris Park Racecourse in The Bronx. When that racetrack closed in 1904 the race was transferred to Belmont Park in Elmont, New York where it remained through 1910 until further restrictions were added to the Hart–Agnew Law by the New York Legislature that ended all racing in New York State. Although racing returned in 1913, the New Rochelle Handicap was not run again until 1918 when the Empire Racing Association revived it at its Empire City Race Track in Yonkers, New York. The 1923 race was transferred to Belmont Park. In 1943, the race was moved to the Empire Racing Association's Jamaica Race Course in Jamaica, New York which closed on August 2, 1959.

The Questionnaire Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race named in honor of the horse Questionnaire who was bred and raced by James Butler, the late president and owner of Empire City Race Track. The race was held from its inception in 1938 through 1942 at the Empire City RaceTrack in Yonkers, New York but with the United States becoming involved in World War II, in 1943 rationing and other wartime limitations resulted in the Empire City Association's decision to go back to hosting only harness racing. The Questionnaire Handicap was then moved to the Jamaica Race Course where it would run under the sponsorship of the Empire City Association through 1953 when it had its final running.

The Youthful Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old horses run between 1903 and 1982. It was raced on dirt at three different tracks in the New York City area beginning with the Jamaica and Aqueduct Racetracks, then in 1972 to Belmont Park where it remained until being canceled after the 1982 running. The inaugural edition in 1903 was won by Hazelwood with the race suspended until 1913.

The Butler Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race first run at Empire City Race Track in Yonkers, New York in 1935 as the Butler Memorial Handicap. The race was named in honor of Empire City Race Track owner James Butler who had died in 1934. Due to wartime rationing regulations, in 1943 the race was moved to Jamaica Race Course in Jamaica, New York and would remain there until its cancellation in 1953.

The Daingerfield Handicap was an American long distance Thoroughbred horse race held annually from 1941 through 1953 at Jamaica Race Course, Jamaica, Queens, New York. Run on dirt for horses age three and older, for the first two years it was contested at two miles after which the distance was set at two and one-sixteenth miles.

The Philadelphia Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race held thirty-eight times between 1913 and 1950 at Havre de Grace Racetrack in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Run on dirt, the race was open to horses of either sex age three and older.

William Lloyd Kelsay was one of the top jockeys in American Thoroughbred racing during the 1920s who was widely respected for his ability to handle two-year-old horses during their first year of racing.

The Bowie Handicap at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland was a Thoroughbred horse race run between 1909 and 1938. A race on dirt, this once much anticipated event that drew some of the very best horses in the country was contested at distances from a mile and one-quarter to as much as two miles.

References