Selima was one of the most important
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...
horses of the 18th century and became one of the foundation mares of the American Thoroughbred.
[ She was imported to the Province of Maryland between 1750 and 1752 by Benjamin Tasker, Jr.][
]
Racing
In 1752, Selima won the biggest prize of the era, 2,500 pistole
Pistole is the French name given to a Spanish gold coin in use from 1537; it was a doubloon or double escudo, the gold unit. The name was also given to the Louis d'Or of Louis XIII of France, and to other European gold coins of about the value ...
s at Gloucester, Virginia
Gloucester Courthouse is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Gloucester County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,951 at the 2010 census.
History
The Gloucester County Courthouse Square Historic District, Glouc ...
which marked "the beginning of the remarkable racing contests between the rival colonies of Maryland and Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
."[
]
Legacy
She produced 10 foals including Selim, Ebony and Stella.[
The annual ]Selima Stakes
The Selima Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland. Raced in late November, it is open to two-year-old fillies and is raced on turf.
History
Inaugurated in 1926, it is named for ...
, now raced at Laurel Park Racecourse
Laurel Park, formerly Laurel Race Course, is an American thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred racetrack located just outside Laurel, Maryland which opened in 1911. The track is miles in circumference. Its name was changed to "Laurel Race Course" fo ...
, was named after Selima in 1926 and first held at the Maryland State Fair with a $30,000 challenge cup for two-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 ...
.
See also
* Dungannon
* Maryland Jockey Club
The Maryland Jockey Club is a sporting organization dedicated to horse racing, founded in Annapolis in 1743. The Jockey Club was founded more than 30 years before the start of the Revolutionary War and is chartered as the oldest sporting organizat ...
References
External links
Selima at Pedigree Query
Retrieved August 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Selima (Horse)
1745 racehorse births
Thoroughbred family 21
Racehorses bred in the Kingdom of Great Britain
Racehorses trained in the United States