The Baltimore Washington International Turf Cup is an American Grade III invitational

horse race 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 ...

run over one mile. Inaugurated in 1952, it was raced at

Laurel Park Racecourse Laurel Park, formerly Laurel Race Course, is an American 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" for several decades unt ...

on the turf in

Laurel, Maryland Laurel is a city in Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington and Baltimore on the banks of the Patuxent River. While the city limits are entirely in northern Prince George's County, outlying developments extend into Anne Arunde ...

, at a distance of miles (12 furlongs), and attracted top turf horses from North America and Europe. It was held annually from 1952 to 1994, then it was discontinued because of its place on the late fall calendar and the popularity of the

Breeders' Cup Turf The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's current ...

. The race was brought back in 2005 as the

Colonial Turf Cup The Commonwealth Turf Cup is an American Thoroughbred horse race held each year since 2015 at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland. It was previously known as the Colonial Turf Cup when it was held at Colonial Downs race track in New Kent County, Virg ...

run at

Colonial Downs Colonial Downs is a Race track, racetrack located in New Kent County, Virginia adjacent to Interstate 64, halfway between Richmond, Virginia, Richmond and Williamsburg, Virginia, Williamsburg. The track conducted Thoroughbred flat racing and Standa ...

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, and then at

as the Commonwealth Turf Cup in

, from 2015 to 2016. Then in 2017 the original root of race name was brought back as well adding it to a portion of its last version the Turf Cup suffix. So it is now being called the Baltimore Washington International Turf Cup. When it was founded by John D. Schapiro (owner of the

), it was the only international horse race in the United States. Until then, bringing horses from Europe and elsewhere to the United States for a specific race was unprecedented. J. Samuel Pearlman, editor of the ''

Daily Racing Form The ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) (referred to as the ''Racing Form'' or "Form" and sometimes "telegraph" or "telly") is a tabloid newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois, by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of race ...

'', discussed the idea with Schapiro after the 1950 racing season. Less than a year and half later, the concept became a reality. Usually just called the International, the race drew the best

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 c ...

s from the U.S. and Europe; it was important enough to attract horses from the Soviet Union during the 1960s, despite the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. In the 1980s, the Washington, D.C. International was part of a million-dollar bonus given to any horse who won both it, the

Canadian International Stakes The Canadian International Stakes is a Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and up on Turf. It is held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The current purse is Since its creation i ...

Woodbine Racetrack Woodbine Racetrack is a race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Woodbine Racetrack manages and hosts Canada's most famous race, the King's Plate. The track ...

in Toronto, and the Turf Classic at

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

in New York. In the race's early days, few American horses excelled on the turf; some were turf specialists, while others built their race records on the dirt and then specifically switched over to grass for the International. U.S. Hall of Famer Kelso won five straight Horse of the Year honors competing almost entirely on the dirt in the early 1960s and finished second three times in a row in the International. In 1964, the great gelding finally won the race in an American record time of 2:23.80. He had given the event international status in Europe by just missing three times, before winning it at age seven.2007 Maryland Jockey Club Media Guide, page 45 on March 3, 2007. The Washington, D.C. International Stakes was raced at a distance of miles from its inception in 1952 until 1986, when it was shortened to miles. With the exception of 1993 (when it was raced at one mile), the International remained at miles until its final running in 1994.

Run the Gantlet Run the Gantlet (1968–1986) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse and noted sire. Background He was out of the mare First Feather, whom owner Paul Mellon had purchased as a yearling at a then record price of $90,000 for a fi ...

won the International in 1971; his son

Providential Providential (February 6, 1977 – May 1998) was an Irish-born Thoroughbred racehorse who competed successfully in France and won the most important race on turf in the United States. Bred and raced by Bertram R. Firestone, he was sired by Ru ...

won it in 1981. Providential was bred and previously owned by Bertram R. Firestone, whose wife Diana won the race the following year with her filly

April Run {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = April Run , image = , caption = , sire = Run the Gantlet , grandsire = Tom Rolfe , dam = April Fancy , damsire = No Argument , sex = mare , foaled = 1978 , country = Ireland , colour = Bay , breede ...

after coming in second to Providential in 1981. During its run, the D.C. International Stakes was won by horses from the United States 22 times and by foreign representatives 21 times.

Records

Speed record: * 2:23.80 @ 1-1/2 miles: Kelso (1964) (stakes and track record) * 1:59.60 @ 1-1/4 miles: Paradise Creek (1994) * 1:52.98 @ 1-3/16 miles: Showing Up (2005) * 1:33.43 @ 1 mile: Blacktype (2016) Most wins by a horse: * 2 –

Bald Eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

(1959, 1960) * 2 –

Fort Marcy Fort Marcy may refer to: * Fort Marcy (Virginia), earthwork fort completed in 1862, now a public park * Fort Marcy (New Mexico), fort in Santa Fe used during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War * Fort Marcy (horse) Fort Marcy ...

(1967, 1970) Most wins by an owner: * 3 –

Nelson Bunker Hunt Nelson Bunker Hunt (February 22, 1926 – October 21, 2014) was an American oil company executive. He was a billionaire whose fortune collapsed after he and his brothers William Herbert and Lamar tried to corner the world market in silver ...

(1973, 1975, 1976) 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 –

Manuel Ycaza Manuel Ycaza (born Carlos Manuel De Ycaza; February 1, 1938 – July 16, 2018) was a Panamanian American jockey who led the way for Latin American jockeys in the United States. De Ycaza began riding ponies at age six and by age fourteen was ridi ...

(1959, 1960, 1967) * 3 –

Lester Piggott Lester Keith Piggott (5 November 1935 – 29 May 2022) was an English professional jockey and trainer. With 4,493 career flat racing wins in Britain, including a record nine Epsom Derby victories, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest f ...

(1968, 1969, 1980) Most wins by a trainer: * 4 –

Maurice Zilber Maurice Zilber (c. 1920 – 21 December 2008) was a French thoroughbred horse trainer born and raised in Cairo, Egypt to a Turkish mother and a French- Hungarian father. He trained horses in Egypt from 1946 to 1962, and then moved to France wher ...

(1973, 1975, 1976, 1980)

Winners of the Baltimore Washington International Turf Cup since 1952

* In 1958, Tudor Era finished first, but was disqualified and set back to second.

References

{{Reflist Discontinued horse races Laurel Park Racecourse Horse races in Maryland Turf races in the United States Horse races established in 1952 Recurring events disestablished in 1995 1952 establishments in Washington, D.C. 1995 disestablishments in Washington, D.C.