The Havre de Grace 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 ...

first run on the August 26, 1912 opening day of the new

Havre de Grace Racetrack The Havre de Grace Racetrack was an American horse racing track on Post Road in Havre de Grace, Harford County, Maryland. Nicknamed "The Graw," it operated from August 24, 1912, to 1950. For a time, it was owned by the Harford Agricultural and B ...

Havre de Grace, Maryland Havre de Grace (), abbreviated HdG, is a city in Harford County, Maryland, Harford County, Maryland. It is situated at the mouth of the Susquehanna River and the head of Chesapeake Bay. It is named after the port city of Le Havre, France, which ...

. 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 Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Ol ...

. 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.

Historical notes

The 38 runnings of the Havre de Grace Handicap produced a number of wins by racing's top horses. The 1915 edition saw ''

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'' magazine co-founder Andrew Miller win with his future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Roamer. The 1916 winner,

The Finn The Finn (1912–1925) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that is best remembered as the winner of the 1915 Belmont Stakes. He won six other stakes races that year and was retroactively recognized as the American Champion three-year-old colt ...

, had won the 1915 Belmont Stakes and earned

American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse The American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both ''Turf & Sport ...

honors. The next year saw the 1917 Kentucky Derby winner

Omar Khayyam Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīsābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131), commonly known as Omar Khayyam ( fa, عمر خیّام), was a polymath, known for his contributions to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, an ...

capture the Havre de Grace Handicap, then two years later

Cudgel A club (also known as a cudgel, baton, bludgeon, truncheon, cosh, nightstick, or impact weapon) is a short staff or stick, usually made of wood, wielded as a weapon since prehistoric times. There are several examples of blunt-force trauma caused ...

won. Owned by Commander J. K. L. Ross, in a very strong field Cudgel defeated two future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductees. The runner-up was Exterminator who was the 1918 Kentucky Derby winner, and in third place was

Sir Barton Sir Barton (April 26, 1916 – October 30, 1937) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the first winner of the American Triple Crown. Background Sir Barton was a chestnut colt bred in 1916, in Kentucky, by John E. Madden at H ...

, the 1919 U.S. Triple Crown champion. The 1926 race was won by another future Hall of Famer, Crusader. He beat top horses such as

Display Display may refer to: Technology * Display device, output device for presenting information, including: ** Cathode ray tube, video display that provides a quality picture, but can be very heavy and deep ** Electronic visual display, output devi ...

Sarazen Sarazen (1921–1940) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Owned by Colonel Phil T. Chinn's Himyar Stud, Sarazen won his first three starts. Chinn then sold him for a huge profit to Virginia Fair Vanderbilt, who raced h ...

and

Princess Doreen Princess Doreen (1921–1952) was a Thoroughbred racehorse best known for being the top American female money-winner. After showing promising form as a two-year-old she improved to be the best female racehorse of her generation for the next thre ...

. Again in 1929 it was another future Hall of Famer

Sun Beau Sun Beau (1925 – c.1943) was an American Thoroughbred Champion Hall of Fame racehorse. Background Sun Beau was sired by Sun Briar. His damsire was Fair Play, who sired Man o' War. Racing career Racing as a two-year-old in 1927, Sun Beau d ...

who won. The only time a

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

ever won the event occurred in 1931 when

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defeated a field of eight males for owner Fannie Hertz who also owned

Reigh Count Reigh Count (April 13, 1925–April 8, 1948) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1928 Kentucky Derby and the 1929 Coronation Cup in England. Reigh Count was bred by Willis Sharpe Kilmer and foaled at Court Ma ...

, the 1928 Kentucky Derby winner and

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Hor ...

. Reigh Count would sire the great

Count Fleet Count Fleet (March 24, 1940 – December 3, 1973) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the sixth winner of the American Triple Crown. He won the Belmont Stakes by a then record margin of twenty-five lengths. After an undefeated ...

who would win the 1948 U.S. Triple Crown for Mrs. Hertz.

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, who too would be elected to the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame, won with his usual come-from-behind charge down the homestretch to take the 1932 race going away. The 1938 running saw future Hall of Famer

Seabiscuit Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) 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 ...

put on a performance in the Havre de Grace Handicap that the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' described as "one of his most sensational victories." Bumped so hard at the first turn by another horse that jockey George Woolf thought he was going down, Seabiscuit regained his stride, caught up with the field, then took the lead away from the outstanding runner

Menow Menow (1935–1964) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He won several important races in 1937, when he was voted American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse. Background Bred and raced by Hal Price Headley, Menow was foaled on May 19, late ...

and from there was hand-ridden to victory in a time of 1:50 flat that was just 1/5 of a second off the track record. In 1940,

Challedon Challedon (1936–1958) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred in Maryland by William L. Brann and Robert S. Castle, he raced under the colors of their Branncastle Farm. Two-year-old-season Racing at age two, Chall ...

would become the only horse to win the Havre de Grace Handicap twice. Ridden by

George Woolf George Monroe Woolf (May 31, 1910 – January 4, 1946), nicknamed "The Iceman", was a Canadian thoroughbred race horse jockey. An annual jockey's award given by the United States Jockeys' Guild is named in his honor. He became known for riding ...

, it marked the third straight win of this race for the future Hall of Fame jockey. Sarah F. Jeffords very fast colt

Natchez Natchez may refer to: Places * Natchez, Alabama, United States * Natchez, Indiana, United States * Natchez, Louisiana, United States * Natchez, Mississippi, a city in southwestern Mississippi, United States * Grand Village of the Natchez, a site o ...

added a third track record to his racing resumé with his 1948 victory in which he ran the mile and one-eighth in a clocking at 1:49 2/5.

Records

Speed record: * 1:49 2/5 @ 1 miles on dirt -

(1948) Most wins: * 2 -

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 -

(1938, 1939, 1940) Most wins by a trainer: * 2 - Robert A. Smth (1918, 1935) * 2 - James E. Fitzsimmons (1921, 1934) * 2 -

James G. Rowe Sr. James Gordon Rowe Sr. (1857 – August 2, 1929) was an American jockey and horse trainer elected to the Hall of Fame for Thoroughbred Horse racing. He won the Belmont Stakes twice as a jockey and 8 times as a trainer. He had 34 champion hors ...

(1922, 1923) * 2 - Louis J. Schaefer (1939, 1941) Most wins by an owner: * 3 - William L. Brann / Branncastle Farm (1939, 1940, 1941)

Winners

References

{{reflist Havre de Grace Racetrack Horse races in Maryland Discontinued horse races 1912 establishments in Maryland 1949 disestablishments in Maryland Recurring sporting events established in 1912 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1949 Havre de Grace, Maryland