Widener Handicap
| Defunct Stakes race | |
| Location |
Hialeah Park Race Track  Hialeah, Florida, United States |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1936-2001 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred - Flat racing |
| Website | N/A |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1 1⁄8 miles (9.0 furlongs) |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Track | Left-handed |
| Qualification | Three-years-old & up |
| Weight | Handicap |
| Purse | $200,000 |
The Widener Handicap at Hialeah Park Race Track in Hialeah, Florida was a Grade III stakes race for Thoroughbred racehorses 3-years-old and up. It was run over a distance of 1 1⁄4 miles (10 furlongs) until 1993 when it was modified to 1 1⁄8 miles. Initially called the Widener Challenge Cup Handicap, the race was named for Hialeah Park owner Joseph E. Widener. It was first run in 1936 as the East Coast counterpart to the Santa Anita Handicap in California.
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 of TIME magazine said: "nearly every glamor horse in the U.S. was entered in Florida's Widener Handicap, richest race of the winter season."[1]
In 1973 the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association began the grading of races[2] and the Widener Handicap was given Grade I status, 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 at Gulfstream Park then 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.
Three horses won the Widener twice and all were owned by Calumet Farm who won this race eight times, more than any other owner.
Record holders
Speed record:
- At 1 1⁄8 miles: 1:45.52 - Albert The Great (2001)
- At 1 1⁄4 miles: 1:58.60 - Turkoman (1986
Most wins:
Most wins by a jockey:
- 4 - Pat Day (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999)
Most wins by a trainer:
- 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
| Year |
Winner |
Age |
Jockey |
Trainer |
Owner |
Dist. |
Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | - 2012 No Races | - | No Races | No Races | No Races | no races | 0:00.00 |
| 2001 | Albert The Great | 4 | Jorge Chavez | Nick Zito | Tracy Farmer | 1-1/8 | 1:45.52 |
| 2000 | Blazing Sword † | 6 | Javier Castellano | Kathleen O'Connell | Gilbert G. Campbell | 1-1/8 | 1:51.73 |
| 1999 | Golden Missile | 4 | Pat Day | Patrick B. Byrne | Frank Stronach | 1-1/8 | 1:47.73 |
| 1998 | Frisk Me Now | 4 | Pat Day | Robert J. Durso | Carol R. Dender | 1-1/8 | 1:47.44 |
| 1997 | Tejano Run | 5 | Pat Day | Kenneth G. McPeek | Roy K. Monroe | 1-1/8 | 1:48.35 |
| 1996 | Mecke | 4 | Pat Day | Emanuel Tortora | James R. Lewis, Jr. | 1-1/8 | 1:52.03 |
| 1995 | Party Manners | 4 | Shane Sellers | C. R. McGaughey III | Ogden Mills Phipps | 1-1/8 | 1:47.33 |
| 1994 | West By West | 5 | Jean-Luc Samyn | George R. Arnold II | John H. Peace | 1-1/8 | 1:49.98 |
| 1993 | Honest Ensign | 5 | Pedro Rodriguez | Guillaume Soyer | Navair Stable | 1-1/8 | 1:48.80 |
| 1992 | No Race | - | No Race | No Race | No Race | no race | 0:00.00 |
| 1991 | Sports View | 4 | Chris Antley | D. Wayne Lukas | Edward A. Cox, Jr. et al. | 1-1/4 | 2:02.58 |
| 1990 | No Race | - | No Race | No Race | No Race | no race | 0:00.00 |
| 1989 | Cryptoclearance | 5 | Jose A. Santos | Flint S. Schulhofer | Philip Teinowitz | 1-1/4 | 1:59.40 |
| 1988 | Personal Flag | 5 | Randy Romero | C. R. McGaughey III | Ogden Phipps | 1-1/4 | 2:01.80 |
| 1987 | Launch a Pegasus | 5 | Jorge Velasquez | Lawrence W. Jennings | Pegasus Racing Stable | 1-1/4 | 2:01.60 |
| 1986 | Turkoman | 4 | Chris McCarron | Gary F. Jones | Saron Stable | 1-1/4 | 1:58.60 |
| 1985 | Pine Circle | 4 | Don MacBeth | C. R. McGaughey III | Loblolly Stable | 1-1/4 | 2:00.40 |
| 1984 | Mat-Boy | 5 | Jorge Valdivieso | Carlos Mancero | Noroma Stable | 1-1/4 | 1:59.80 |
| 1983 | Swing Till Dawn | 4 | Craig Perret | Chuck Marikian | Paniolo Ranch et al. | 1-1/4 | 2:01.20 |
| 1982 | Lord Darnley | 4 | Mary Russ | Roger Laurin | George F. Getty II | 1-1/4 | 2:02.40 |
| 1981 | Land of Eire | 6 | Earlie Fires | Joseph S. Nash | C. V. Collins | 1-1/4 | 2:01.00 |
| 1980 | Private Account | 4 | Jeffrey Fell | Angel Penna, Sr. | Ogden Phipps | 1-1/4 | 2:03.20 |
| 1979 | Jumping Hill | 7 | Jeffrey Fell | Horatio Luro | El Peco Ranch | 1-1/4 | 2:03.00 |
| 1978 | Silver Series | 4 | Angel Cordero, Jr. | Oscar Dishman, Jr. | Dr. Archie R. Donaldson | 1-1/4 | 2:02.20 |
| 1977 | Yamanin | 5 | Garth Patterson | George T. Poole | Hajime Doi | 1-1/4 | 2:01.20 |
| 1976 | Hatchet Man | 5 | Heliodoro Gustines | John M. Gaver, Sr. | Greentree Stable | 1-1/4 | 2:02.00 |
| 1975 | Forego | 5 | Heliodoro Gustines | Sherrill W. Ward | Lazy F Ranch | 1-1/4 | 2:01.80 |
| 1974 | Forego | 4 | Heliodoro Gustines | Sherrill W. Ward | Lazy F Ranch | 1-1/4 | 2:01.20 |
| 1973 | Vertee | 4 | John Ruane | H. Allen Jerkens | Hobeau Farm | 1-1/4 | 2:00.80 |
| 1972 | Good Counsel | 4 | Angel Cordero, Jr. | Lou Rondinello | Darby Dan Farm | 1-1/4 | 2:02.60 |
| 1971 | True North | 5 | Robert Woodhouse | George T. Poole | C. V. Whitney | 1-1/4 | 2:03.80 |
| 1970 | Never Bow | 4 | Eddie Belmonte | H. Allen Jerkens | Hobeau Farm | 1-1/4 | 2:01.00 |
| 1969 | Yumbel | 8 | Fernando Toro | Julian Serna, Jr. | Walnut Hill Farm | 1-1/4 | 2:03.20 |
| 1968 | Sette Bello | 6 | Earlie Fires | James P. Conway | Robert Lehman | 1-1/4 | 2:01.60 |
| 1967 | Ring Twice | 4 | William Boland | Bert Mulholland | George D. Widener, Jr. | 1-1/4 | 2:00.60 |
| 1966 | Pia Star | 5 | Johnny Sellers | Clyde Troutt | Ada L. Rice | 1-1/4 | 2:01.60 |
| 1965 | Primordial | 8 | Sandino Hernandez | Santiago L. Ledwith | Santiago L. Ledwith | 1-1/4 | 2:03.60 |
| 1964 | Mongo | 5 | Wayne Chambers | Frank A. Bonsal | Marion duPont Scott | 1-1/4 | 2:01.20 |
| 1963 | Beau Purple | 6 | William Boland | H. Allen Jerkens | Hobeau Farm | 1-1/4 | 2:01.80 |
| 1962 | Yorky | 5 | Steve Brooks | Horace A. Jones | Calumet Farm | 1-1/4 | 2:02.00 |
| 1961 | Yorky | 4 | Johnny Sellers | Horace A. Jones | Calumet Farm | 1-1/4 | 2:01.00 |
| 1960 | Bald Eagle | 5 | Manuel Ycaza | Cain Hoy Stable | Woody Stephens | 1-1/4 | 1:59.60 |
| 1959 | Bardstown | 7 | Steve Brooks | Horace A. Jones | Calumet Farm | 1-1/4 | 2:01.20 |
| 1958 | Oligarchy | 4 | Sam Boulemetis | J. Elliott Burch | Brookmeade Stable | 1-1/4 | 2:01.40 |
| 1957 | Bardstown | 5 | Bill Hartack | Horace A. Jones | Calumet Farm | 1-1/4 | 2:03.00 |
| 1956 | Nashua | 4 | Eddie Arcaro | James E. Fitzsimmons | Belair Stud | 1-1/4 | 2:02.00 |
| 1955 | Hasty Road | 4 | John Adams | Harry Trotsek | Hasty House Farm | 1-1/4 | 2:02.40 |
| 1954 | Landlocked | 4 | John Heckmann | Robert L. Dotter | James Cox Brady, Jr. | 1-1/4 | 2:03.20 |
| 1953 | Oil Capitol | 6 | Conn McCreary | Harry Trotsek | Hasty House Farm & Cora Trotsek | 1-1/4 | 2:02.40 |
| 1952 | Spartan Valor | 4 | James Stout | Frank Catrone | William G. Helis, Jr. | 1-1/4 | 2:03.20 |
| 1951 | Sunglow | 4 | Douglas Dodson | Preston M. Burch | Brookmeade Stable | 1-1/4 | 2:02.20 |
| 1950 | Royal Governor | 6 | Chris Rogers | James E. Ryan | Esther du Pont Weir | 1-1/4 | 2:06.00 |
| 1949 | Coaltown | 4 | Ted Atkinson | Horace A. Jones | Calumet Farm | 1-1/4 | 2:02.00 |
| 1948 | El Mono | 4 | Porter Roberts | Roscoe Troxler | Daniel Lamont | 1-1/4 | 2:01.00 |
| 1947 | Armed | 6 | Douglas Dodson | Ben A. Jones | Calumet Farm | 1-1/4 | 2:01.60 |
| 1946 | Armed | 5 | Douglas Dodson | Ben A. Jones | Calumet Farm | 1-1/4 | 2:02.40 |
| 1945 | No Race | - | No Race | No Race | No Race | no race | 0:00.00 |
| 1944 | Four Freedoms | 4 | Eddie Arcaro | John M. Gaver, Sr. | Greentree Stable | 1-1/4 | 2:04.60 |
| 1943 | No Race | - | No Race | No Race | No Race | no race | 0:00.00 |
| 1942 | The Rhymer | 4 | Eddie Arcaro | John M. Gaver, Sr. | Greentree Stable | 1-1/4 | 2:05.20 |
| 1941 | Big Pebble | 5 | George Seabo | William B. Finnegan | Circle M. Ranch | 1-1/4 | 2:02.80 |
| 1940 | Many Stings | 5 | Ruperto Donoso | Mose Shapoff | Le Mar Stock Farm | 1-1/4 | 2:03.00 |
| 1939 | Bull Lea | 4 | Irving Anderson | Frank J. Kearns | Calumet Farm | 1-1/4 | 2:02.40 |
| 1938 | War Admiral | 4 | Charles Kurtsinger | George Conway | Glen Riddle Farm | 1-1/4 | 2:03.80 |
| 1937 | Columbiana | 4 | Hubert LeBlanc | William J. Hirsch | William J. Hirsch | 1-1/4 | 2:02.00 |
| 1936 | Mantagna | 4 | Eddie Litzenberger | George E. Phillips | William H. Furst | 1-1/4 | 2:01.80 |
- † In 2000 Lemon Drop Kid finished 1st but was disqualified to 4th for interference.