The Rhode Island 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 ...
run annually 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, ...
in
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 ...
from 1934 to 1948. The race was designed to be the closing day feature of the tracks very first meet. The handicap event was given a $10,000 purse, the largest of the meet. Older handicap horses were the racing stars of the day and the Rhode Island Handicap was to be the track's signature race.
The first Rhode Island Handicap run at Narragansett Park was on closing day, September 3, 1934. With its purse of $10,000 added it drew a solid field. Future
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Av ...
inductee
Discovery
Discovery may refer to:
* Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown
* Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown
* Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence
Discovery, The Discovery ...
set the World Record for 1 3/16 miles in the time of 1:55.
Alfred G. Vanderbilt II
Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Jr. (September 22, 1912 – November 12, 1999) was a British-born member of the prominent Vanderbilt railroad family, and a noted figure of American thoroughbred horse racing. He was the youngest-ever member of The Jockey ...
was lured to run his top horse at 'Gansett when track management bumped the purse to 15k added just days before the event. Discovery's time would stand as the track record until 1946.
The attendance figure of 53,922 that crammed the track that Labor Day is still a record for any sporting event held in Rhode Island.
However, the popularity of the racing action in that first summer of 1934 led to the creation of the
Narragansett Special
The Narragansett Special was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Narragansett Park in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. At the time of its inaugural running in 1934, the Narragansett Special offered a purse of $32,500 added money making it ...
which was placed the end of a second fall meeting. The Special was scheduled for 10/31 1934. This race, with a 25 thousand-dollar purse and run at the same 1 3/16 miles distance, was destined to be 'Gansett's biggest race every year.
The first three editions of the RI 'Cap were run at the 1 3/16 miles distance.
The 1937 race was cancelled when Narragansett Park was closed because of the “Race Track War” that fall. When the race returned in 1938, it had been shortened to 1 1/8 miles and would run at that distance for its duration.
The November 12, 1938, race would see a visit from another Hall of Fame member.
War Admiral
War Admiral (May 2, 1934 – October 30, 1959) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the fourth winner of the American Triple Crown. He was also the 1937 Horse of the Year and well known as the rival of Seabiscuit in the 'Match ...
had been fairly defeated by
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 ...
in their famous match race 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 ...
just 11 days earlier. Owner
Samuel D. Riddle
Samuel Doyle Riddle (July 1, 1861 – January 8, 1951) was an American businessman and racehorse owner. He was born in Glen Riddle, Pennsylvania, a small town southwest of Philadelphia given the family name by his father.
Samuel D. Riddle, ...
chose the Rhode Island Handicap for the star's next race. War Admiral did not disappoint the huge crowd of 40,000 that showed up that day. He held a 2 1/2 lengths advantage under the wire while being eased by jockey
Charley Kurtsinger. It was his last stakes victory.
The race continued to be a top handicap event on the New England racing circuit until 1947. That year the entire Autumn stakes program was eliminated. Even the Narragansett Special was not run in 1947. An outbreak of "Swamp Fever" — or
Equine Infectious Anemia
Equine infectious anemia or equine infectious anaemia (EIA), also known by horsemen as swamp fever, is a horse disease caused by a retrovirus (''Equine infectious anemia virus'') and transmitted by bloodsucking insects. The virus (''EIAV'') is en ...
(EIA) in the summer had caused the death of 77 horses at
Rockingham Park
Rockingham Park was a horse racing establishment in Salem, New Hampshire, in the United States. First built in 1906, it was used as an area for many to gamble on the weekends. Seabiscuit raced there in 1935 and 1936,''Daily Racing Form'' staff (2 ...
. This greatly restricted the inter-state shipping of horses that Fall. Without the best horses shipping, the best races were eliminated from the racing book.
In 1948, the RI Handicap returned with its 10k added purse. War Trophy, bred by Samuel D. Riddle out of his
Man o' War
Man o' War (March 29, 1917 – November 1, 1947) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who is widely regarded as the greatest racehorse of all time. Several sports publications, including ''The Blood-Horse'', ''Sports Illustrated'', ESPN, and ...
mare Racing Colors, became the last winner of the Rhode Island Handicap at Narragansett Park. The
Providence Stakes, a race restricted to 3 year olds, was chosen to see an increased purse and gained the position of 2nd biggest race at 'Gansett.
A 1951 edition of the Rhode Island Handicap was scheduled for the years' final day, but was cancelled when only three horses entered.
[Providence Journal 9-22-51]
Lincoln Downs – a nearby 13/16th mile track that opened on July 7, 1947 – ran a 7.5 furlong race named the Rhode Island Handicap in 1959. It was won by Rose's Gem with, the popular local legend,
Charlie Boy second.
Winners
References
{{reflist
Narragansett Park
Horse races in the United States
Discontinued horse races
Sports in Rhode Island
Recurring sporting events established in 1934
Recurring events disestablished in 1948
1934 establishments in Rhode Island
1948 disestablishments in Rhode Island