The Wide Country Stakes is an American
Thoroughbred 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 ...
held annually in March at
Laurel Park Racecourse in
Laurel, Maryland. The race is open to fillies age three and up over seven furlongs on the dirt. It was run for the 23rd time in 2015.
An
ungraded stakes race, it currently offers a purse of $100,000. The race was named in honor of the 1991 Maryland-bred "Horse of the Year,
Wide Country. Tom Tanner's home bred, Wide Country compiled a nine-race win streak (all stakes races at either
Pimlico Race Course or
Laurel Park Racecourse). The streak began in the final months of 1990 when the chestnut filly won the Grade 2
Black-Eyed Susan Stakes over a muddy race track after losing a shoe. She also won the Grade 3
Pimlico Oaks by eight and a half lengths. Wide Country shipped to
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 ...
and Meadowlands during that campaign and placed second in graded stakes company in both cases. Trained by
Robert W. Camac
Robert W. Camac (August 21, 1940 – December 6, 2001) was an American horse trainer and owner/breeder in Thoroughbred racing. He was murdered in 2001.
Born in Wilmington, Delaware, Bob Camac came from a Thoroughbred horse racing family in which ...
, she captured three straight Maryland stakes races on her way to state-bred championship honors. She retired with a record of 20 wins or placings in 26 starts for career earnings of $881,221.
Records
Speed record:
* 7 furlongs - 1:22.78 - Saarlight (2008)
* 7.5 furlongs - 1:30.80 - Norstep (1995)
* 1 mile - 1:40.00 - Bare Dancer (2007)
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 -
Mark T. Johnston
Mark T. Johnston (born November 15, 1970, in Lebanon, Kentucky) is a retired jockey in thoroughbred horse racing who was voted the 1990 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey The Eclipse Award for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey is an Ameri ...
(1995, 1996, & 2000)
Most wins by a
trainer:
* 2 -
Kiaran McLaughlin (2008 & 2009)
Winners of the Wide Country Stakes since 1994
See also
*
Wide Country Stakes top three finishers and starters
References
{{Reflist
External links
Laurel Park website
Laurel Park Racecourse
Horse races in Maryland
Recurring sporting events established in 1994