Widener Handicap
Defunct Stakes race | |
Location | Hialeah Park Race Track Hialeah, Florida,United States |
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Inaugurated | 1936–2001 |
Race type | Thoroughbred–Flat racing |
Website | N/A |
Race information | |
Distance | 1+1⁄8miles (9.0 furlongs) |
Surface | Dirt |
Track | Left-handed |
Qualification | Three-years-old & up |
Weight | Handicap |
Purse | $200,000 |
TheWidener HandicapatHialeah Park Race TrackinHialeah, Floridawas aGrade IIIstakes race forThoroughbredracehorses3-years-old and up. It was run over a distance of1+1⁄4miles (10furlongs) until 1993 when it was modified to1+1⁄8miles. Initially called the Widener Challenge Cup Handicap, the race was named for Hialeah Park ownerJoseph E. Widener.It was first run in 1936 as theEast Coastcounterpart to theSanta Anita HandicapinCalifornia.
The magnificence of the Hialeah Park facilities drew the rich and famous to the track and a purse of $50,000 quickly made the Widener Handicap one of the major events of the winter racing season, drawing many of the country's top horses. The March 16, 1942 issue ofTIME magazinesaid: "nearly every glamor horse in the U.S. was entered in Florida's Widener Handicap, richest race of the winter season."[1]
In 1973 theThoroughbred Owners and Breeders Associationbegan the grading of races[2]and the Widener Handicap was givenGrade Istatus, the highest designation. The Widener Handicap was a Grade 1 race in 1989 when financial difficulties saw racing at Hialeah Park suspended. On resumption in 1992, the race lost its graded stakes status but earned back a Grade III ranking in 1994 and remained at that until its final running in 2001.
In 2000, the Widener Handicap was run atGulfstream Parkthen returned to Hialeah Park in 2001. At the end of that year, financial difficulties spelled the demise of Hialeah Park and with it the Widener Handicap.
WhenMary Russwon the 1982 Widener Handicap it marked the first time in the history of North American Thoroughbred racing that a female jockey won aGrade Ievent.[3]
Three horses won the Widener twice and all were owned byCalumet Farmwho won this race eight times, more than any other owner.
Record holders
[edit]Speed record:
- At1+1⁄8miles: 1:45.52 –Albert the Great(2001)
- At1+1⁄4miles: 1:58.60 –Turkoman(1986)
Most wins:
Most wins by ajockey:
- 4 –Pat Day(1996, 1997, 1998, 1999)
Most wins by atrainer:
- 5 –Horace A. Jones(1949, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1962)
Most wins by an owner:
- 8 –Calumet Farm(1939, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1962)
Winners of the Widener Handicap
[edit]- † In 2000Lemon Drop Kidfinished 1st but was disqualified to 4th for interference.