The New England Oaks 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 ...

held annually from 1936 thru 1944 at

Narragansett Park Narragansett Park was an American race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Beginnings On May 18, 1934, Rhode Island voters approved a measure legalizing parimutuel betting by an almost 3 to 1 margin. The following day, ...

Pawtucket, Rhode Island Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence and East Providence to the south, Central Falls ...

. Run on dirt over a distance of a mile and one-sixteenth, like all "Oaks" races for Thoroughbreds, it was open to three-year-old

fillies A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

only.

Historical Notes

Fully one-third of all winners of the New England Oaks would finish the year as the

American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Three-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 ...

. *1) Under jockey

Irving Anderson Irving may refer to: People *Irving (name), including a list of people with the name Fictional characters * Irving, the main character's love interest in Cathy (comic strip) * Lloyd Irving, the main protagonist in the ''Tales of Symphonia'' video ...

, High Fleet won the September 5, 1936 inaugural running of the New England Oaks. The

George D. Widener Jr. George Dunton Widener Jr. (March 11, 1889 - December 8, 1971) was an American businessman and thoroughbred racehorse owner; one of only five people ever designated "Exemplars of Racing" by the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Early lif ...

filly, trained by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Bert Mulholland, would be voted the 1936

. *2) Ridden by future Hall of Fame jockey

Jack Westrope Jack Gordon Westrope (January 18, 1918 – June 19, 1958) was an American Hall of Fame jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. Born in Baker, Montana, Westrope was the son of racehorse owner/trainer W. T. Westrope. Jack was only 12 years old when he ...

for the

Brookmeade Stable Brookmeade Stable was a successful thoroughbred horse racing stable owned by Dodge automobile heiress and socialite Isabel Dodge Sloane. Sloane first won using the name Brookmeade Stable at the Manly Memorial Steeplechase at Pimlico in 1924. I ...

Isabel Dodge Sloane Isabel Cleves Dodge Sloane (February 1896 – March 16, 1962) was an American heiress and socialite who owned a major Thoroughbred horse racing stable and breeding farm. Isabel Dodge was the second of three children of Canadian-born Ivy Hawki ...

Handcuff Handcuffs are restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists in proximity to each other. They comprise two parts, linked together by a chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each cuff has a rotating arm which engages with a ratchet tha ...

won the 1938 edition of the New England Oaks. Her time of 1:43 3/5 was just 1/5 of a second off the track record and would turn out to be the best in the Oaks history. Handcuff would earn that year's

honors. *3) Following her win in the 1943 Oaks, ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' story on the race results said that " Stefanita just about clinched her claim to the 3-year-old filly championship of the 1943 racing season," which she did. In 1945 there was no running of the New England Oaks. With wartime gasoline rationing in place nationwide, travel to the racetrack was basically limited to Pawtucket residents. The other side of the coin was that locals could not go away for summer vacation or visits and local entertainment venues benefited from increased attendance. In some instances the wartime restrictions led to facilities shutting down such as Delaware Park did for all of 1944. Attracting owners and trainers from around the country to send their horses to compete in feature events became difficult for the smaller out-of-the-way tracks. Such was the case when Narragansett Park had to drop the

New England Futurity The New England Futurity was a short-lived Thoroughbred stakes race at Narragansett Park in Pawtucket, Rhode Island which the ''Daily Racing Form'' reported it to be "New England's richest and most important stake" For two-year-old entire colts an ...

after its 1940 running.

Records

Speed record: * 1:43.60 @ 1-1/16 miles:

(1938) 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 ...

: * No jockey won this race more than once. Most wins by a trainer: * 2 - Bert Mulholland (1936, 1943) Most wins by an owner: * 2 -

(1936, 1943) * 2 -

George M. Odom George Martin Odom (July 8, 1882 – July 29, 1964) was an American National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame jockey and trainer in Thoroughbred horse racing. He is only one of two people to ever have won the Belmont Stakes as both a jockey a ...

(1938, 1941)

Winners

References

{{short description, American Thoroughbred stakes horse race Narragansett Park Horse races in the United States Discontinued horse races Flat horse races for three-year-old fillies Recurring sporting events established in 1936 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1945 Sports in Rhode Island