The Champlain Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older first run in 1901 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Placed on hiatus in 1945, it was revived in 1954 at Jamaica Racetrack as a sprint race restricted to fillies and mares. The race was discontinued after the 1957 running.

Champlain Handicap
Discontinued stakes race
LocationSaratoga Race Course, Saratoga Springs, New York,

Belmont Park,
Elmont, New York

Jamaica Racetrack,
Jamaica, New York
United States

Inaugurated1901
Race typeThoroughbred - Flat racing
Race information
Distance6 furlongs (3/4 mile)
SurfaceDirt
Trackleft-handed
QualificationThree-year-olds and up

Historic notes

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The first running of the Champlain Handicap took place on August 27, 1901.[1]

On August 29, 1907 Dandelion won the Champlain Handicap for the second straight year. He would be the only horse to ever win the race more than once.[2]

In winning the 1919 edition of the Champlain Handicap, Willis Sharpe Kilmer's top runner Sun Briar broke Saratoga's track record for the mile and one-eighth distance on dirt with a time of 1:50 flat. In so doing, he defeated his stablemate and future Hall of Fame inductee, Exterminator.[3] The following year Exterminator returned to compete in the 1920 running of the Champlain only to finish second again, this time to Gnome.[4]

The 1938 Champlain Handicap was the fifth race on the card. It was preceded by the Rockton Handicap, a race named in honor of the 1901 inaugural winner of the Champlain.[5] [6]

Due to World War II, in May, 1942 the United States government's Office of Price Administration implemented gasoline rationing on seventeen East Coast states which included New York. [7] Saratoga Springs Race Course relied upon a good attendance rate from New York city racing fans willing to make the 360 mile return trip but rationing would impact that for users of motor vehicles as well as passenger trains. As a result, the important Saratoga stakes races would be shifted to Belmont Park on densely populated Long Island in 1943 and 1944 where it was run as an event for three-year-old horses. The Champlain Handicap would never return to Saratoga.[8] [9]

Records

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Speed record: (Jamaica Racetrack)

  • 1:11.00 @ 6 furlongs: Oil Painting (1955) & Gandharva (1956)

Speed record: (Saratoga Race Course)

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)
(Furlongs)
Time Win $
Jamaica Racetrack
1957 Happy Princess 5 Ovie Scurlock Gerald E. Lewis Mabel D. Lewis 6 f 1:11.40 $16,350
1956 Gandharva † 4 Bobby Ussery Preston M. Burch Brookmeade Stable 6 f 1:11.00 $16,550
1955 Oil Painting 4 Hedley Woodhouse MacKenzie Miller Mrs. Joseph A. Goodwin 6 f 1:11.00 $11,500
1954 Gay Grecque 5 Willie Roland Eugene Jacobs Mrs. S. George Zauderer 6 f 1:12.00 $12,375
1952 - 1953 Race not held
1951 Northern Star 3 Eric Guerin John M. Gaver Sr. Greentree Stable 6 F 1:11.40 $2,635
Belmont Park
1945 - 1950 Race not held
1944 Stronghold 3 Robert Permane James E. Fitzsimmons Wheatley Stable 1-1/16 m 1:44.60
1943 Famous Victory 3 Ted Atkinson John M. Gaver Sr. Greentree Stable 1 m 1:36.00
Saratoga Race Course
1942 Race not held
1941 Napper Tandy 6 Charles Dickey Phil Schwartz Phil Schwartz 1 m 1:39.60
1940 Masked General 6 Maurice Peters William Mulholland Brandywine Stable (Donald P. Ross) 1-1/8 m 1:53.00 $1,975
1939 Sickle T 4 Ronnie Nash Jack Howard Florence D. Whitaker 1-1/8 m 1:51.00 $2,500
1938 Esposa 6 Nick Wall Matthew P. Brady William Ziegler Jr. 1-1/8 m 1:50.60 $2,350
1937 Thorson 5 Johnny Longden Thomas H. McCreery Buckley M. Byers 1-1/8 m 1:50.40 $2,500
1936 Count Arthur 4 James Stout Lon Johnson Fannie Hertz 1-1/8 m 1:52.20 $2,725
1935 Good Goods 4 Jack Westrope Robert A. Smith Brookmeade Stable 1-1/8 m 1:51.60 $2,600
1934 Mr. Khayyam 4 Don Meade Matthew P. Brady Catawba Stable (Madelaine Austin) 1-1/8 m 1:52.00 $2,900
1933 Sun Archer 3 Don Meade Henry E. McDaniel Willis Sharpe Kilmer 1-1/8 m 1:54.00 $2,870
1932 Reveille Boy 5 Laverne Fator John A. Best John A. Best 1-1/8 m 1:54.60 $3,200
1931 Curate 5 Mack Garner Henry E. McDaniel Joseph E. Widener 1-1/8 m 1:52.60 $3,825
1930 Caesarion 5 Donald Lyons Bennett W. Creech William R. Coe 1-1/8 m 1:53.00 $3,400
1929 Distraction 4 James H. Burke James E. Fitzsimmons Wheatley Stable 1-1/8 m 1:55.60 $3,775
1928 Victorian 3 Laverne Fator James G. Rowe Jr. Harry P. Whitney 1-1/8 m 1:51.00 $3,775
1927 Display 4 John Maiben Thomas J. Healey Walter J. Salmon Sr. 1-1/8 m 1:52.20 $3,450
1926 Peanuts 4 Harry Richards George P. Odom Robert L. Gerry 1-1/8 m 1:54.00 $4,200
1925 Big Blaze 4 Albert Johnson Gwyn R. Tompkins Glen Riddle Farm 1-1/8 m 1:54.00 $3,975
1924 Klondyke 3 Ivan Parke James G. Rowe Sr. Harry P. Whitney 1-1/8 m 1:52.40 $4,150
1923 Bunting 4 Linus McAtee James G. Rowe Sr. Harry P. Whitney 1-1/8 m 1:51.00
1922 Mad Hatter 6 Earl Sande Sam Hildreth Rancocas Stable 1-1/8 m 1:51.20 $4,150
1921 Sennings Park 5 Frank Keogh Scott P. Harlan Westmont Stable (Lawrence Waterbury II & J. Leonard Replogie) 1-1/8 m 1:54.00 $4,175
1920 Gnome 4 Frank Keogh William H. Brooks Samuel Ross & Cary T. Grayson 1-1/8 m 1:53.20 $3,400
1919 Sun Briar 4 Willie Knapp Henry E. McDaniel Willis Sharpe Kilmer 1-1/8 m 1:50.00 $2,675
1918 Westy Hogan 4 Clarence Kummer Sandy McNaughton Wilfrid Viau 1-1/8 m 1:53.60 $2,675
1917 Clematis 4 Merritt Buxton Thomas M. Murphy Oscar Lewisohn 1-1/8 m 1:54.80 $2,325
1916 The Finn 4 Andy Schuttinger Edward W. Heffner Harry C. Hallenbeck 1-1/8 m 1:52.80 $1,925
1915 Star Jasmine 6 Eddie Martin Thomas C. McDowell Thomas C. McDowell 1-1/8 m 1:55.60 $1,925
1914 Pandean 4 Joe Kederis Albert Simons Harry P. Whitney 1-1/8 m 1:54.60 $1,925
1913 Cock o' the Walk 3 Buddy Glass John P. Mayberry Frederick Johnson 1-1/8 m 1:51.80 $1,925
1912 No races held due to the Hart–Agnew Law.
1911
1910 Olambala 4 James Butwell Thomas J. Healey Richard T. Wilson Jr. 1-1/8 m 1:55.00 $2,315
1909 Wise Mason 3 Eddie Dugan Thomas Welsh Newcastle Stable 1-1/8 m 1:53.80 $1,925
1908 Angelus 3 Caroll Shilling John E. Madden Thomas Hitchcock Sr. 1-1/8 m 1:54.80 $535
1907 Dandelion 5 Herman Radtke John E. Madden Francis R. Hitchcock 1-1/8 m 1:52.20 $2,300
1906 Dandelion 4 LaVerne Sewell John E. Madden Francis R. Hitchcock 1-1/8 m 1:54.00 $2,300
1905 Dolly Spanker 4 Lucien Lyne Thomas J. Healey Richard T. Wilson Jr. 1-1/8 m 1:53.00 $2,300
1904 Molly Brant 4 George M. Odom Hubert H. Hyner S. Sanford & Sons 1-1/8 m 1:56.40 $2,300
1903 Africander 3 Grover Fuller Richard O. Miller Hampton Stable (Charles F. Dwyer & Simon Deimel) 1-1/8 m 1:56.00 $2,295
1902 Advance Guard 5 George M. Odom Alexander Shields James Carruthers & Alexander Shields 1-1/8 m 1:51.40 $2,300
1901 Rockton 4 Willie Shaw William Hayward Jr. John Sanford 1-1/8 m 1:54.40 $2,300
  • † Blue Sparkler finished first but was disqualified for interfering with runner-up Gandharva.

References

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  1. ^ "Saratoga's Grand Racing (history of the Champlain Handicap)". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1917-08-12. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
  2. ^ "Dandelions Champlain: Hitchcock Horse Wins This Handicap for the Second Time". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1907-08-30. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  3. ^ "Sun Briar First in the Champlain Handicap in New Track Record Time". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1919-08-10. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
  4. ^ "Saratoga Form Chart". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1920-08-15. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  5. ^ "Three-Length Victory Gained by Esposa in Champlain Handicap at Saratoga". New York Times, page 16. 1938-08-17. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  6. ^ "Racing At Saratoga; Rockton Made All the Running and Won the Stakes". New York Times, page 5. 1901-08-28. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  7. ^ "Protests Mount As Listing Begins In 'Gas' Rationing". New York Times, page 1. 1942-05-13. Archived from the original on 2020-05-06. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  8. ^ "Famous Victory Captures Belmont Feature". New York Times, Section Sports, page 8. 1943-08-21. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  9. ^ "Stronghold, 5 to 1, Scores At Belmont". New York Times, Section Sports, page 18. 1944-08-18. Retrieved 2021-08-09.