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Lucien Laurin
Lucien Laurin (March 18, 1912 – June 26, 2000) was a French-Canadian jockey and Hall of Fame Thoroughbred horse trainer. He was best known for training Secretariat, who won the Triple Crown in 1973. Life and career Laurin was born in Joliette, Quebec, Canada. His career in Thoroughbred horse racing began in 1929 as a jockey at Blue Bonnets Raceway in Montreal, Quebec. Battling weight problems, after riding 161 race winners, in 1942 he began working as a trainer in New England, a job that would span 45 years and take him to the pinnacle of horse racing success. While working for two different stables, he enjoyed a long and successful association with owner Reginald N. Webster. For Webster, Laurin trained a number of winners including Quill, the 1958 American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly, and Amberoid, who won the 1966 Wood Memorial Stakes and gave Laurin his first of six American Classics, the Belmont Stakes. His son, Roger Laurin, worked as a trainer at Christopher Chenery's Me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jockey
A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual who rode horses in racing. They must be light, typically around a weight of 100-120 lb., and physically fit. They are typically self-employed and are paid a small fee from the horse trainer and a percentage of the horse's winnings. Jockeys are mainly male, though there are some well-known female jockeys too. The job has a very high risk of debilitating or life-threatening injuries. Etymology The word is by origin a diminutive of ''jock'', the Northern English or Scots colloquial equivalent of the first name ''John'', which is also used generically for "boy" or "fellow" (compare ''Jack'', ''Dick''), at least since 1529. A familiar instance of the use of the word as a name is in "Jockey of Norfolk" in Shakespeare's ''Richard III''. v. 3, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wood Memorial Stakes
The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. It is run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. The Wood Memorial has been run as a Grade II event since 2017. It was a Grade I race from 1974 (when grading was first introduced) to 1994 and again from 2002 to 2016. The Wood Memorial is one of the major prep races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Between 1930 and 2000, eleven winners of the Wood Memorial went on to win the Kentucky Derby (Gallant Fox, Twenty Grand, Johnstown, Count Fleet, Hoop Jr., Assault, Foolish Pleasure, Bold Forbes, Seattle Slew, Pleasant Colony and Fusaichi Pegasus). Four of them also won the Triple Crown. The most famous loser in the Wood Memorial was Secretariat, who finished third in 1973. The winner of the Wood Memorial has not won the Kentucky Derby since 2000, in part because several became injured in the weeks betwe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Man O' War Stakes
The Man o' War Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for horses aged four-years-old and older. It is run over a distance of one and three-eighth miles on turf and is scheduled annually for early May at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The current purse is $700,000. History The event is named in honor of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame Champion Man o' War who was selected as No. 1 in the Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century. The inaugural running of the event was on 24 October 1959 at the newly reopened Aqueduct Racetrack as the Man o' War Handicap over a distance of miles. The event attracted 23 entrants thus enabling NYRA to run the event as two split divisions with a record total purse of $225,100. The event attracted some of the finest long distance turf horses including British bred Tudor Era who was first past the post in the 1958 Washington D.C. International at Laurel but was disqualified. Tudor Era would win the Sec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanford Stakes
The Sanford Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the third week of July at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. A six furlong sprint race, the Grade III event is open to two-year-old horses. Inaugurated in 1913 as the Sanford Memorial Stakes, it was modified to its present name in 1927. The race is named for Stephen Sanford and his son John, Amsterdam, New York businessmen from one of Saratoga's original horse racing families. Their horses first appeared in the Saratoga races in 1880. Stephen Sanford named all his best horses after members of the Mohawk nation. The race was hosted by Belmont Park from 1943 through 1945. It was contested at five and a half furlongs from 1962 through 1968. Held for almost a hundred years, the only three years in which it did not take place was 1961, 2005, and 2020. Only four horses have ever won all three Saratoga Racecourse events for two-year-olds. Regret (1914), Campfire (1916), Dehere (1993), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hollywood Derby
The Hollywood Derby is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late November/early December. Now held at Del Mar racetrack in San Diego, California, until 2014 it was held at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. The race is open to horses aged three and contested at a mile and an eighth on turf. It currently offers a purse of $300,000. Inaugurated in 1938, the race has been a Grade I event since 1973 when grading was first introduced. There was no race from 1942 through 1944 as a result of World War II and it was not run in 2005 as a safety precaution after new grass had been planted on the turf course. It was contested in two divisions from 1981 through 1987. Known as the Westerner Stakes from 1948–1958, the race was held at Santa Anita Park in 1949 after a fire destroyed the Hollywood Park grandstand and clubhouse. When Hollywood Park closed in December 2013, the race was transferred to Del Mar. Due to the layout of the turf course at Del Mar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Florida Derby
The Florida Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Since 2005, it has been run five weeks before the Kentucky Derby, which is held on the first Saturday in May. Thus the Florida Derby is currently run either at the end of March or the beginning of April. Added to the racing schedule in 1952, the Grade I race is run at miles on the dirt. The purse was increased to $1 million in 2011 but was reduced to $750,000 for 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The purse was once again increased to $1 million in 2022. History The Florida Derby was first run in 1952. It has long been a prestigious prep race for the Kentucky Derby and since 2013 has been part of the official Road to the Kentucky Derby. The race was originally run in early to mid-March and Kentucky Derby hopefuls would then run in another major prep race in April. In 2005, Gulfstream Park shifted its scheduling to run the rac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Grass Stakes
The Blue Grass Stakes, currently the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes due to sponsorship by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is a horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. The race is run at miles on the dirt and currently offers a purse of $1,000,000. The Blue Grass Stakes was a Grade I event from 1974 (when grading was first introduced) through 1989 and again from 1999 to 2016. It was a Grade II event from 2017-2021, and returned to a Grade I in 2022. It was named for the Bluegrass region of Kentucky, characterized by grass having bluish-green culms, which is known as the "heart" of the thoroughbred racing industry. First run at the Kentucky Association track in Lexington in 1911, the Blue Grass has, from its inception, served as an important prep for the Kentucky Derby. At the Lexington Association track, the Blue Grass was staged from 1911 through 1914 and from 1919 through 1926. The race was revived at Keeneland in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laurel Futurity Stakes
The Laurel Futurity is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late September at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland. Run over a distance of miles on turf, at one time it was a Grade I stakes race on dirt, and one of the richest and most important races for two-year-old American thoroughbreds. When the race was moved from the dirt to the turf in 2005, it lost its graded status and was subsequently ineligible for grading in 2006. The race was finally cancelled in 2008 for economic reasons. It was announced by Laurel Park that the famed race would be restored in 2011 and run on October 8 at 6 furlongs. Originally known as the Pimlico Futurity (the race began at Pimlico Race Course in 1921, only moving to Laurel in 1969 where it was briefly known as the Pimlico-Laurel Futurity). Past winners include Triple Crown champions Count Fleet, Citation, Secretariat and Affirmed, who defeated his arch rival Alydar in this race. Records Speed record: * miles – 1:40.17 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Champagne Stakes (United States)
The Champagne Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old horses. The race is run at a distance of one mile on the dirt at Belmont Park in October each year. Although the race is open to both colts and fillies, in practice it is New York's premier race for two-year-old colts and fillies enter the Frizette Stakes instead. The race is a Road to the Kentucky Derby Prep Season qualifying race. The winner receives 10 points toward qualifying for the Kentucky Derby. The race is also a part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series. The winner automatically qualifies for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. The race was first run in 1867, and it is the oldest race of its kind in the United States. It was given the same name as the British Champagne Stakes which has been run annually since 1823 at the Doncaster Racecourse in South Yorkshire, England. There was no Champagne Stakes run from 1910 through 1913, due to a legislated ban by the State of New York on parimutuel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belmont Futurity Stakes
The Futurity Stakes, commonly referred to as the Belmont Futurity, is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid-September or October at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, United States. Open to two-year-old horses, it is raced on turf over a distance of six furlongs. The creation of James G. K. Lawrence, president of the Sheepshead Bay Race Track, the Futurity was originally run with the two-year-old offspring of mares which had been nominated before their birth. This rule remained in effect until 1957, when the race was opened to all two-year-old horses. The Futurity was run as a turf race for the first time in 2018. It was added to the Breeders' Cup Challenge series for 2018 as a "Win and You're In" qualifier for the Juvenile Turf Sprint. Inaugural running The first edition of the Futurity took place on Labor Day in 1888. ''The New York Times'' reported that one quarter of those in attendance were women. The richest race ever run in the United States to that time, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Stallion Stakes
The National Stallion Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race held sixty-two times between 1898 and 1971. Inaugurated as the National Stallion Race at Morris Park Racecourse in The Bronx, the event was open to horses of either sex until 1948 when it became a race exclusively for colts and geldings and a National Stallion Stakes (filly division) was created. Contested on dirt at a distance of five furlongs, from 1905 onward it was hosted by Belmont Park in Elmont, New York except for 1963 through 1967 when it was run at Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens, New York. The race was restricted to horses whose sire had been nominated for the race by its owner before the end of the foal's birth year. Historical notes The inaugural running of the National Stallion race took place on May 14, 1898 at Morris Park Racecourse and was won by Jean Bereaud who would go on to win the next year's Belmont Stakes. In his 1907 win, future Hall of Fame inductee Colin set a new ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gotham Stakes
The Gotham Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses run in early March at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. A Grade III event with a current purse of US$300,000, it is set at a distance of 1 mile on the dirt. It is part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby. History The race is named for New York City, which has been nicknamed Gotham since an 1807 article by Washington Irving. The event was inaugurated in 1953 at Jamaica Racetrack but following the facility's closure was moved to Aqueduct Racetrack for the 1960 season. In 1958, the race was restricted to horses four years of age and older. The Gotham Stakes is the final local prep to the Wood Memorial Stakes and an official prep race for the Kentucky Derby. The only Derby winner who competed in the Gotham was American Triple Crown champion Secretariat, who tied the track record when winning the race in 1973. Easy Goer improved on this in 1989, setting a track record of 1:32.40 – one of the fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
