The American Legion Handicap was an American

Thoroughbred horse race Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actua ...

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...

open to horses of either sex age three and older. It was contested over a distance of seven furlongs on dirt, except for 1948 and 1949 when it was set at one mile (8 furlongs). The race was run for thirty-two years from 1927 through 1948.

Historical notes

The inaugural running took place on August 6, 1927 and was won Cheops, a three-year-old brown colt owned by the very prominent

Rancocas Stable Rancocas Farm was an American thoroughbred horse racing stud farm and racing stable located on Monmouth Road ( County Road 537) in the Jobstown section of Springfield Township, Burlington County, New Jersey. Pierre Lorillard IV The farm was foun ...

. The race was created to honor American

war veterans A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that h ...

but during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

also became a fund raising event to support the war effort. In 1943 government wartime restrictions meant the race had to be hosted that year by the

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

racetrack in

Elmont, New York Elmont is an unincorporated hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in northwestern Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, United States, along its border with the borough of Queens in New York City. The population was 35,265 at the ...

. During the July 26, 1937 racing program that included the American Legion Handicap, tragedy struck the Saratoga facilities when, during a severe electrical storm, a bolt of lightning killed one horse and knocked eight others unconscious. The lightning struck the barn housing Thoroughbreds owned by

King Ranch King Ranch is the largest ranch in the United States. At some it is larger than the state of Rhode Island and country of Luxembourg. It is mainly a cattle ranch, but also produced the Triple Crown winning racehorse Assault. The ranch is loc ...

plus those of Anna Corning. The lightning then hit a stall killing the two-year-old filly Gino Vive belonging to

Willis Sharpe Kilmer Willis Sharpe Kilmer (October 18, 1869 – July 12, 1940) was a patent medicine manufacturer, newspaperman, horse breeder, and entrepreneur. Biography Willis Kilmer, son of Jonas M. Kilmer and Julia E. Sharpe, was a marketing pioneer, newspape ...

. The 1938 race was won by Alfred G. Vanderbilt Jr.'s Airflame whose winning time broke an eighteen-year-old track record. The Canadian owned Arise, who had traveled to Saratoga in 1949 and won the prestigious

Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Mid-Summer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds according to internation ...

, returned to win the 1950 running of the American Legion Handicap and would go on to a career that would see him inducted into the

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to honour those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and Thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. It is located at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. The H ...

in 1983. The thirty-second and final running of the American Legion Handicap took place on August 8, 1958. On a sloppy racetrack, the five-year-old horse Reneged easily won by five lengths, beating eight other runners.

Records

Speed record: * 1:22.20 @ 7

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

s : Greek Warrior (1945) Most wins: * 2 - Microphone (1932, 1933) * 2 - Nedayr (1939, 1940) * 2 - Tea-Maker (1951, 1952) Most wins by a

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 ...

: * 3 -

Hedley Woodhouse Hedley John Woodhouse (January 23, 1920 - December 29, 1984) was a Canadian jockey who won the New York state riding championship in 1953. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, he began his racing career there in 1937 at the Lansdowne Park racetrac ...

(1952, 1954, 1956) Most wins by a trainer: * 3 - Phillip M. Walker (1932, 1933, 1935) Most wins by an owner: * 3 -

Joseph E. Widener Joseph Early Widener (August 19, 1871 – October 26, 1943) was a wealthy American art collector who was a founding benefactor of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. A major figure in thoroughbred horse racing, he was head of New ...

(1928, 1930, 1941) * 3 -

Greentree Stable Greentree Stable, in Red Bank, New Jersey, was a major American thoroughbred horse racing stable and breeding farm established in 1914 by Payne Whitney of the Whitney family of New York City. Payne Whitney operated a horse farm and stable at Sar ...

(1934, 1944, 1955) * 3 - Alfred G. Vanderbilt Jr. (1936, 1938, 1940)

Winners

External links

Pathé News video - Airflame" wins American Legion Handicap at Saratoga

References

{{reflist Discontinued horse races in New York (state) Open mile category horse races Saratoga Race Course Belmont Park American Legion Recurring sporting events established in 1927 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1948 1927 establishments in New York (state) 1948 disestablishments in New York (state)