Delaware Handicap (Saratoga)

The Delaware Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race held between 1901 and 1937 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. An event for horses of either sex age three and older, it was contested on dirt over a distance of one mile. While fillies accounted for just under a third of the winners, their victories were marked by a number of dominating performances.

Delaware Handicap
Discontinued handicap race
LocationSaratoga Race Course, Saratoga Springs, New York,
United States
Inaugurated1901
Race typeThoroughbred - Flat racing
Race information
Distance1 mile (8 furlong)
SurfaceDirt
Trackleft-handed
Qualification3-year-olds and up

Historical notes

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First run on August 17, 1901, the race was won by Frank Farrell's three-year-old colt, Blues. The distance for this inaugural event was set at a mile and one-sixteenth after which it would be permanently shortened to one mile.[1]

The sole two-time winner of the Delaware Handicap was John Sanford's very good filly Molly Brant who won in 1904 and 1905. Owner John Sanford, in partnership with father Stephen Sanford, had won the 1902 edition and John would win it for a record fourth time in 1907.[2]

The 1908 passage of the Hart–Agnew anti-betting legislation by the New York Legislature under Republican Governor Charles Evans Hughes led to a state-wide shutdown of racing in 1911 and 1912.[3] [4] A February 21, 1913 ruling by the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division saw horse racing return in 1913.[5]

Gifford Cochran's fleet filly Fairy Wand, ridden by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Clarence Kummer, won the 1919 Delaware Handicap in a time of 1:36 1/5 which equaled the American record for the one-mile distance.[6]

On August 13, 1937, William Ziegler Jr.'s Esposa easily captured the thirty-fifth and final running of the Delaware Handicap.[7] Esposa would go on to earn recognition as that year's American Champion Older Female Horse featured by her win in November's Bowie Handicap, a mile and five-eighths endurance test in which she broke the Pimlico track record while beating the mighty Seabiscuit. Esposa would prove herself again in 1938 when she would repeat as the U.S. Champion.[8] [9]

Records

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Speed record:

  • 1:36.20 @ 1 mile: Sun Briar (1918)
  • 1:36.20 @ 1 mile: Fairy Wand (1919)

Most wins:

Most wins by a jockey:

Most wins by a trainer:

Most wins by an owner:

Winners

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Year Winner Age Jockey Trainer Owner
Dist.
(Miles)
Time Win $
1937 Esposa 5 Nick Wall Mathew P. Brady William Ziegler Jr. 1 m 1:37.80 $3,025
1936 Vicaress 4 Tommy Malley James E. Fitzsimmons Belair Stud Stable 1 m 1:38.20 $3,125
1935 Only One 6 Robert Merritt Philip M. Walker Polly Brooks Howe 1 m 1:38.00 $3,150
1934 Kievex 3 Wayne D. Wright George E. Phillips William Graham 1 m 1:39.60 $3,050
1933 Tambour 5 John Gilbert Preston M. Burch Preston M. Burch 1 m 1:38.40 $3,270
1932 Flagstone 4 Robert Leischman William H. Brooks Linton Farms Stable (George M. Seglin) 1 m 1:37.80 $3,600
1931 Mr. Sponge 4 Mack Garner Henry McDaniel Joseph E. Widener 1 m 1:36.60 $4,150
1930 Flying Heels 3 Willie Kelsay Henry McDaniel Gifford A. Cochran 1 m 1:38.60 $4,150
1929 Buddy Bauer 5 Eddie Legere Herbert J. Thompson Edward R. Bradley 1 m 1:37.00 $4,450
1928 Byrd 4 Anthony Pascuma Alex Gordon Fair Stable 1 m 1:42.00 $4,475
1927 Light Carbine 4 Fred Stevens Michael J. Dunlevy Ira B. Humphreys 1 m 1:40.60 $4,475
1926 Single Foot 4 Clarence Turner Harry Rites J. Edwin Griffith 1 m 1:40.00 $4,875
1925 Blind Play 4 John Maiben Louis Feustel Log Cabin Stable 1 m 1:38.80 $4,600
1924 Sunsini 4 Willie Kelsay Frank M. Bray Lilane Stable (Mrs. William L. Walker) 1 m 1:40.40 $5,025
1923 Wilderness 3 Benny Marinelli Thomas J. Healey Richard T.Wilson Jr. 1 m 1:41.00 $4,650
1922 Blazes 5 Clarence Kummer William M. Garth Joshua S. Cosden 1 m 1:43.40 $4,375
1921 Idle Dell 3 George W. Penman Scott P. Harlan Greentree Stable 1 m 1:38.20 $4,975
1920 Boniface 5 Earl Sande H. Guy Bedwell J. K. L. Ross 1 m 1:40.80 $3,800
1919 Fairy Wand 5 Clarence Kummer James N. Evans Gifford A. Cochran 1 m 1:36.20 $2,675
1918 Sun Briar 3 Willie Knapp Henry McDaniel Willis Sharpe Kilmer 1 m 1:36.20 $2,675
1917 Old Rosebud 6 George Molesworth Frank D. Weir Hamilton C. Applegate 1 m 1:38.40 $2,950
1916 Pennant 5 Joe Notter James G. Rowe Sr. Harry Payne Whitney 1 m 1:37.60 $1,950
1915 Star Jasmine 6 Jack Martin Thomas Clay McDowell Thomas Clay McDowell 1 m 1:43.40 $1,050
1914 Tartar 4 Walter Taylor Thomas J. Healey Montpelier Stable 1 m 1:37.60 $1,655
1913 Lahore 5 Charles Borel Walter S. House John O. Talbott 1 m 1:39.80 $2,285
1912 No races held due to the Hart–Agnew Law.
1911
1910 Sir John Johnson 5 Vincent Powers Dave Woodford Beverwyck Stable (Frank J. Nolan) 1 m 1:40.00 $2,845
1909 Field Mouse 3 Joe McCahey A. Jack Joyner August Belmont Jr. 1 m 1:42.40 $1,385
1908 Beaucoup 3 Joe McCahey Thomas J. Healey Montpelier Stable 1 m 1:40.20 $530
1907 Vails 3 Louis Beckman William Hayward Jr. John Sanford 1 m 1:38.00 $2,200
1906 Dandelion 4 LaVerne Sewell John E. Madden Francis R. Hitchcock 1 m 1:38.60 $1,835
1905 Molly Brant 5 Willie Knapp Hubert H. Hyner John Sanford 1 m 1:39.40 $2,200
1904 Molly Brant 4 Lucien Lyne Hubert H. Hyner John Sanford 1 m 1:39.60 $2,535
1903 Gimcrack 3 Willie Gannon James G. Rowe Sr. James R. Keene 1 m 1:46.40 $2,400
1902 Chuctanunda 4 George M. Odom William Hayward Sr. S. Sanford & Son * 1 m 1:38.00 $2,305
1901 Blues 3 Willie Shaw Thomas Welsh Frank J. Farrell 1-1/16 m 1:47.60 $1,910

References

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  1. ^ "Blues Scores an Easy Victory in the Delaware Handicap". Chicago Tribune. 1901-08-18. p. 19. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
  2. ^ "Molly Brant Wins Delaware Handicap". New York Times. 1905-08-09. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  3. ^ "Penalties in the New York Bills". Daily Racing Form. 1908-01-18. Retrieved 2018-10-26 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
  4. ^ "Race Track Bill Defeated In Senate; Measure Modifying Directors' Liability for Gambling Fails of Passage". The New York Times. July 14, 1911. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  5. ^ "Oral Betting Held Legal: Appellate Division of New York Supreme Court Renders Important Decision". Daily Racing Form. 1913-02-22. Retrieved 2019-06-29 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
  6. ^ "American Mile Record Tied: Fairy Wand Wins the Delaware Handicap at a Mile in 1:36 1-5". Daily Racing Form. 1919-08-06. Retrieved 2021-02-16 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
  7. ^ "Esposa First in Handicap Event". Herald & Review. 1937-08-14. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  8. ^ "Esposa Wins Handicap in Record Time". Daily Colonist. 1937-11-12. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  9. ^ The Bloodhorse.com Champion's history charts Archived September 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine