The Indiana Governor's Cup (more commonly known as the Madison Regatta) is an

H1 Unlimited H1 Unlimited is an American Unlimited Hydroplane racing league that is sanctioned by the American Power Boat Association (APBA). Until 2009, the series was known as ABRA Unlimited Hydroplane, in turn renamed from APBA Unlimited Hydroplane in 2004. ...

hydroplane boat race held annually on

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

weekend on the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

Madison, Indiana Madison is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. As of the 2010 United States Census its population was 11,967. Over 55,000 people live within of downtown Madison. Madison is the larges ...

. Madison has hosted the Madison Regatta annually since 1951, although the race was also contested in the 1930s. The race inspired a Hollywood motion picture released in 2005, titled ''

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

'' which starred actor

Jim Caviezel James Patrick Caviezel Jr. (; born September 26, 1968) is an American film and television actor who played Jesus Christ in ''The Passion of the Christ'' (2004) and starred as John Reese on the CBS series ''Person of Interest'' (2011–2016). He ...

.The Regatta was part of the

APBA Gold Cup The APBA Gold Cup (originally known simply as the Gold Cup, a speedboat race) is an American hydroplane boat race, named for the American Power Boat Association. It is now run as part of the H1 Unlimited season. Starting in 1904, the Gold Cup ...

in 1979, 1980. 2019, & will be contested in 2021.

History

Informal racing took place in

as early as 1911. But the first major race didn't occur until 1929. That was when the now-defunct Mississippi Valley Power Boat Association conducted a race for the 725 Cubic Inch Class, which evolved into the Unlimited Class after

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 ...

. The MVPBA conducted the Webb Trophy at Madison in 1930. The Webb Trophy was the MVPBA equivalent of the

APBA APBA (pronounced "APP-bah") is a game company founded in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It was created in 1951 by trucking firm purchaser J. Richard Seitz (1915-1992). The acronym stands for "American Professional Baseball Association", the name of a b ...

Gold Cup—their top award. The 725s raced at Madison throughout the 1930s until the disastrous

flood of 1937 and

brought down the curtain for a while. The current series of regattas in Madison began in 1949. This was a "wildcat" race, administered by the Ohio Valley Motor Boat Racing Association of Cincinnati. The largest class present was the 225 Cubic Inch Class. The first Unlimited race took place in 1950. The Unlimited races at Madison from 1950 to 1953 were one-heat multi-class free-for-all affairs. They didn't count for National High Points. The first High Points Unlimited race at Madison occurred in 1954. This came about largely through the efforts of ''Madison Courier'' columnist Phil Cole. (A High Points Unlimited race must be scheduled for a minimum of two heats with at least four boats making a legal start.) Madison had an uninterrupted string of High Points Unlimited races every year from 1954 through 2012. The 2013 races were canceled because of flooding on the Ohio that covered the pit area, although the land-based events associated with the regatta went on as scheduled. Madison hosted the

in 1971, 1979-1980, 2019, and 2021. Madison hosted the U.I.M. World's Championship in 1972 and 2004. The Madison committee is the longest continuously active Unlimited committee in the country. Madison Regatta, Inc. (formerly the Madison Boat Club) has hosted the Unlimiteds every year since 1950 (except in 2013 and 2015 because of river conditions). Seattle didn't start until 1951. Detroit has been on the circuit since 1946, but with four different committees.

List of Madison Regatta winners

Source: ¹ H1 Unlimited cancelled the 2015 race because of high water and debris on the Ohio River where six of the 11 boats withdrew. A non-championship race was held instead with five boats.

References

External links

Madison RegattaH1 Unlimited
{{H1 Unlimited Series Racing motorboats H1 Unlimited Hydroplanes Tourist attractions in Jefferson County, Indiana Sailing in Indiana Recurring sporting events established in 1951 1951 establishments in Indiana Ohio River Motorboat racing