- Narragansett Special
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Discontinued horse race Narragansett Special Location Narragansett Race Track
Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United StatesInaugurated 193 Race type Thoroughbred - Flat racing Website History website Race information Distance 1³/16 miles (9.5 furlongs) Track Dirt, left-handed Qualification Three-years-old & up Weight Handicap Purse $25,000 The Narragansett Special was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Narragansett Race Track in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. At the time of its inaugural running in 1935, the Narragansett Special offered a purse of $25,000 making it New England's richest horse race [1] Open to horses age three and older, it was contested on dirt over a distance of 1³/16 miles (9.5 furlongs).
An instant success, the race drew the top horses from across the United States. In 1937, Mrs. Ella K. Bryson's gelding, Calumet Dick, upset runnerup Snark and national superstar, Seabiscuit, who finished third. [2] The race was won by racing stars such as future U. S. Racing Hall of Fame inductees Challedon (1939) [3] and Triple Crown winner, Whirlaway (1942). [4]
By the late 1950s the big tracks in New York were attracting the best horses with much larger purses and the Narragansett Race Track and the Special declined in prestige. In 1963, another future Hall of Fame horse, Gun Bow, won the final edition of the race.
Records
Speed record:
- 1:54.60 - Lucky Draw (1946) (World record for dirt)
Most wins:
- 2 - Donor (1948, 1949)
Most wins by a jockey:
- 2 - Ted Atkinson (1941, 1951, 1956)
Most wins by an owner:
- 2 - Greentree Stable (1940, 1951)
- 2 - W. Deering Howe (1948, 1949)
- 2 - Alfred G. Vanderbilt II (1954, 1956)
Winners
Year Winner Age Jockey Trainer Owner Time 1963 Gun Bow 3 Steve Brooks Edward A. Neloy Gedney Farm 1:58.80 1962 Wise Flushing 4 Manuel Ycaza not found Gustave A. Smith 1:58.80 1961 Count Amber 4 James Davern, Jr. Lucien Laurin Reginald N. Webster 1:58.40 1960 Reinzi 5 James Combest E. Barry Ryan J. Frederic Gagel 1:57.40 1959 Net Ball 4 Bill Skuse Mike Freeman Warner G. Morton 1:57.00 1958 Sharpsburg 5 Howard Grant Warren A. Croll, Jr. Roy E. Faircloth 1:57.00 1957 Oh Johnny 4 William Boland Norman R. McLeod Mrs. Wallace Gilroy 1:57.60 1956 Find 6 Ted Atkinson William C. Winfrey Alfred G. Vanderbilt II 1:57.00 1955 Wise Margin 5 Bobby Ussery Sam N. Edmundson Sam Tufano 1:58.40 1954 Social Outcast 4 Eric Guerin William C. Winfrey Alfred G. Vanderbilt II 1:58.00 1953 Sailed Away 4 Anthony DeSpirito not found Vigilant Stable 1:56.60 1952 General Staff 4 James Stout James McGee Larry MacPhail 1:56.40 1951 Hall of Fame 3 Ted Atkinson John M. Gaver, Sr. Greentree Stable 1:56.80 1950 De Luxe 4 Eugene Rodriguez not found W. True Davis, Jr. 1:57.60 1949 Donor 5 Warren Mehrtens George P. Odom W. Deering Howe 1:56.40 1948 Donor 4 Arnold Kirkland George P. Odom W. Deering Howe 1:57.40 1947 no race 1946 Lucky Draw 5 Conn McCreary Bert Mulholland George D. Widener, Jr. 1:54.60 1945 Westminster 4 Willie Garner James McGee Morris Wexler 1:58.00 1944 Paperboy 6 Warren Mehrtens Jimmy Coleman W-L Ranch Co. 1:56.00 1943 Market Wise 5 Johnny Longden George W. Carroll Louis Tufano 1:55.40 1942 Whirlaway 4 George Woolf Ben A. Jones Calumet Farm 1:56.40 1941 War Relic 3 Ted Atkinson Walter A. Carter Glen Riddle Farm 1:57.20 1940 Hash 4 Eddie Arcaro John M. Gaver, Sr. Greentree Stable 1:57.00 1939 Challedon 3 Harry Richards Louis J. Schaefer William L. Brann & Robert S. Castle 1:56.60 1938 Stagehand 3 Jack Westrope Earl Sande Col. Maxwell Howard 1:56.20 1937 Calumet Dick 5 Hilton Dabson Harry Baker Ella K. Bryson 1:57.00 1936 Rosemont 4 Harry Richards Richard E. Handlen Foxcatcher Farms 1:56.40 1935 Top Row 4 Wayne Wright Albert A. Baroni Albert A. Baroni 1:55.80 1934 Time Supply 3 Tommy Luther Frank C. Travis Mrs. Frank A. Carreaud 1:57.00 References
Categories:- Horse races in the United States
- Discontinued horse races
- Sports in Rhode Island
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