The Marguerite Stakes was a

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 ...

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 ...

, in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

run between 1945 and 1965. A race on dirt for two-year-old fillies, it was created as a companion event to the

Pimlico Futurity 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 riches ...

and declared at the time to be one of the richest of its kind in the United States. It was named in honor of Marguerite, one of the great

broodmares 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 y ...

in racing history. Marguerite was the dam of four significant runners including

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

winner and U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee,

Gallant Fox Gallant Fox (March 23, 1927 – November 13, 1954) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the second winner of the American Triple Crown. In a racing career which lasted from 1929 to 1930, Gallant Fox won 11 of his 17 races includ ...

Historical notes

The inaugural Marguerite Stakes was won by William L. Brann's Challadette, a daughter of the outstanding sire Challenger II whose progeny includes U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductees

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 ...

and

Gallorette Gallorette (1942–1959) was a Maryland-bred chestnut thoroughbred filly who became a Hall of Fame race horse. Sired by Challenger II, out of Gallette, Gallorette's damsire was Sir Gallahad III. Breeding Trainer Preston M. Burch bought Gal ...

plus the National Champion fily Bridal Flower. Challadette came into the race having already won the Maryland Futurity in which she beat her male counterparts.

Bed O' Roses Bed o' Roses (1947 – January 5, 1953) was an American thoroughbred racehorse. Bed o' Roses was a bay filly by Rosemont out of the mare Good Thing, by Discovery (horse), Discovery, owned and bred by Alfred G. Vanderbilt II, Alfred G. Vanderbilt I ...

easily won the 1949 Marguerite Stakes by three and a half lengths after coming from near the back of the field. She would finish the year as

American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both t ...

and in 1951 would earn another National title. Bed O' Roses career put her in elite company with induction in the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame. Marshua dominated the penultimate edition of the Marguerite Stakes winning in a new race record time by six lengths under jockey Wayne Chambers. The Marguerite Stakes final edition was run on November 27, 1965 and was won by Swift Lady.

Records

Speed record: * 1:45.80 @ 6

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 - Marshua (1964), Swift Lady (1965) 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 ...

: * 2 -

Eric Guerin Oliver Eric Guerin (October 23, 1924 – March 21, 1993) was an American Hall of Fame jockey. Eric Guerin was born in Maringouin, Louisiana, in Cajun backwater country, twenty-four miles west of Baton Rouge. He was the son of an impoverished C ...

(1949, 1952) * 2 -

Bill Hartack William John Hartack Jr. (December 9, 1932 – November 26, 2007), born in Colver, Pennsylvania, was a Hall of Fame jockey. Colver is in the northwestern part of Cambria Township, 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Ebensburg, the county seat. ...

(1959, 1960) Most wins by a trainer: * 2 - Burton B. Williams (1946, 1959) * 2 - James P. Conway (1952, 1960) Most wins by an owner: * - No owner won this race more than once.

Winners

References

{{reflist Discontinued horse races Horse races in Maryland Pimlico Race Course Flat horse races for two-year-olds 1945 in American sports Recurring sporting events established in 1945 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1965