The Scarsdale 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 ...

open to horses age three and older first run on October 16, 1918, over a mile and seventy yards on dirt at Empire City Race Track in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...

Historical notes

In its second year, the Scarsdale Handicap was run as the Westchester Handicap before reverting to its original name in 1920. In 1942, Empire City Racetrack terminated

flat racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

and the facility reverted to hosting only

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australi ...

events. After that, the Scarsdale Handicap was run at

Jamaica Race Course Jamaica Race Course, also called the Jamaica Racetrack, was an American thoroughbred horse racing facility operated by the Metropolitan Jockey Club in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. History The track opened on April 27, 1903, a day which featu ...

Jamaica, Queens Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is mainly composed of a large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis to the east; St. Albans, Springfi ...

, New York.

Race moments

The 1918 inaugural running was won by

War Cloud War Cloud (1915–1923) was a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who was the first horse to compete in all three U.S.Triple Crown races. Background Bred by Jack Barnato Joel, one of Britain's most prominent Thoroughbred owner/breeders, W ...

, a three-year-old colt who had finished fourth in that year's

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

, won the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...

and ran second in the

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

. Two months earlier future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Roamer had broken

Salvator Salvator, original spelling of Salvador, may refer to: * Paulaner Salvator, the original doppelbock brand * Salvator (lizard), ''Salvator'' (lizard), a genus of lizards * Salvator (horse) (1886–1909), an American thoroughbred racehorse * Salvato ...

's record for the mile that had stood for twenty-eight years. As such, bettors sent War Cloud off as the 7-5 second choice behind 4-5 favorite Roamer. The recently acquired

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 ...

got his first

stakes race Glossary of North American horse racing: Additional glossaries at: *Glossary of Australian and New Zealand punting *Glossary of equestrian terms This is a basic glossary of equestrian terms that includes both technical terminology and jargon ...

win for new owner Charles Howard's on September 7, 1936, in the Governor's Handicap at the Detroit Fairgrounds Racetrack and then won the Hendrie Handicap at the same track on September 26. The colt continued to show his real talent under the care of trainer Tom Smith and jockey

Red Pollard John M. "Red" Pollard (October 27, 1909 – March 7, 1981) was a Canadian horse racing jockey. A founding member of the Jockeys' Guild in 1940, Pollard rode at racetracks in the United States and is best known for riding Seabiscuit. Family ...

with his win in the Scarsdale Handicap on October 24, 1936. Purchased for $100 by owner/trainer Tommy Heard, in 1942 Boysy became the first horse to win the Scarsdale twice. He came back the next year to capture the race for the third straight time, going

wire-to-wire Wire-to-wire is a term used in competitive events and sports for a champion who maintained the lead during an entire competition. The term originated from horse racing where a wire would stretch across the start and finish line thus the euphemism ...

in winning by three

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...

. In the 1946 Scarsdale,

Albert Snider Albert Snider (October 22, 1921March 5, 1948) was a jockey in Thoroughbred racing who had success in his native Canada as well as the United States. He was born in Calgary, Alberta, and got his first win on September 1, 1938, at Stamford Park ra ...

, one of the most promising young riders of the time, rode Polynesian to victory. Snider would go on to become a first-string jockey with

Calumet Farm Calumet Farm is a Thoroughbred breeding and training farm established in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. Calumet is located in the heart of the Bluegras ...

and in 1948 was the regular jockey for the great

Citation A citation is a reference to a source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose of ...

. He was scheduled to ride Citation in the U.S. Triple Crown series but disappeared on March 5, 1948, while fishing off the coast of Florida with two friends. Despite a lengthy and intensive search, their bodies were never recovered. Snider's death opened the door for

Eddie Arcaro George Edward Arcaro (February 19, 1916 – November 14, 1997), was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who won more American classic races than any other jockey in history and is the only rider to have won the U.S. Tripl ...

to ride Citation to win the Triple Crown. The Scarsdale Handicap's twenty-eighth and final running in 1947 was won by With Pleasure who defeated a stellar field that included two future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductees and the previous year's

American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse The American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when the ''Daily Racing Fo ...

. It was

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 ...

who finished second, with Double Jay in third,

Donor A donor in general is a person, organization or government which donates something voluntarily. The term is usually used to represent a form of pure altruism, but is sometimes used when the payment for a service is recognized by all parties as rep ...

fourth, and

Stymie A stymie is an obsolete rule in the sport of golf. It legislated for the situation where a player's ball lay behind or blocked by another player's ball; the blocked player was not afforded relief. In the modern game, the blocking ball is temporar ...

, the then richest racehorse in United States history who finished sixth.''Joplin Globe'' (Missouri) November 2, 1947 article titled "With Pleasure Wins Scarsdale Handicap"
Retrieved August 31, 2018

Race distances

*1 mile, 70 yards : 1918, 1925-1947 *1 mile : 1919-1924

Records

Speed record: *1 mile : 1:38 1/5 - Tryster (1922) (New track record) *1 mile, 70 yards : 1:41 3/5 - Seven Hearts (1944) at Jamaica *1 mile, 70 yards : 1:42 0/0 - Psychic Bid (1935) at Empire City Most wins: * 3 - Boysy (1941, 1942, 1943) 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 ...

: * 3 -

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 ...

(1938, 1931, 1947) Most wins by a trainer: * 3 - Tommy Heard (1941, 1942, 1943) Most wins by an owner: * 3 - Tommy Heard (1941, 1942, 1943)

Winners

References

{{reflist Empire City Race Track Jamaica Race Course Discontinued horse races in New York (state) Open mile category horse races Sports competitions in New York City Recurring sporting events established in 1918 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1947 1918 establishments in New York (state) 1947 disestablishments in New York (state)