Potomac Handicap

The Potomac Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in the latter part of September at Havre de Grace Racetrack in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Open to three-year-old horses, it was raced on dirt at a distance of a mile-and-a-sixteenth.

First run at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland, it was restricted to two-year-olds and run at a distance of one mile. The 1918 running was won by Calumet Farm's two-year-old colt, Be Frank, ridden by Lavelle Ensor. [1] The following year the race moved to the Havre de Grace Racetrack and was changed to an event for three-year-olds and set at a distance of a mile-and-a-sixteenth.

The Potomac Handicap was won by four National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame inductees including 1919 U.S. Triple Crown winner Sir Barton and Man o' War who won the 1920 edition. Despite being assigned highweight of 138 pounds, Man o' War set a new Havre de Grace track record for a mile-and-a-sixteenth.

Venue:

• Laurel : 1916-1918, 1944-1948
• Pimlico: 1943
• Havre de Grace Racetrack: 1919-1942

Records

Speed record: (3-year-olds)

• 11⁄16 miles: 1:44 flat, Menow (1938)
• 11⁄8 miles: 1:50 3/5, Loyal Legion (1947)

Speed record: (2-year-olds)

• 1 mile: 1:39 1/5, Be Frank (1918)

Most wins by a jockey:

• 2 - Clarence Kummer (1915, 1920)
• 2 - Andy Schuttinger (1917, 1922)
• 2 - Clarence Kummer (1921, 1931)
• 2 - Albert Snider (1946, 1947)

Most wins by a trainer:

• 2 - Clyde S. Phillips (1916, 1930)
• 2 - Thomas J. Healey (1925, 1936)
• 2 - Bud Stotler (1934, 1935)
• 2 - James Radney (1946, 1948)

Most wins by an owner:

• 2 - Willis Sharpe Kilmer (1928, 1933)
• 2 - Alfred G. Vanderbilt II (1934, 1935)
• 2 - Mrs. Ellsworth H. Augustus (1946, 1948)

Winners

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Dist. (Miles)	Time
1948	Seven League	3	Mike Basile	James Radney	Elizabeth Good Augustus	11⁄8 M	1:52.80
1947	Loyal Legion	3	Albert Snider	Oscar White	Walter M. Jeffords Sr.	11⁄8 M	1:50.60
1946	Blue Yonder	3	Albert Snider	James Radney	Elizabeth Good Augustus	11⁄8 M	1:56.60
1945	British Buddy	3	Johnny Breen	James McGee	Morris Wexler	11⁄8 M	1:51.40
1944	Megogo	3	Ken Scawthorn	John A. Healey	Christiana Stable	11⁄16 M	1:49.60
1943	Son of Peace	3	Billie Thompson	Ben A. Jones	Calumet Farm	11⁄8 M	1:52.60
1942	Aletern	3	Jimmy Thornburg	Jack Skirvin	Alwin C. Ernst	11⁄16 M	1:47.20
1941	Boston Man	3	Ted Atkinson	George L. Arvin	H. Teller Archibald	11⁄16 M	1:45.80
1940	Mioland	3	Carroll Bierman	Tom Smith	Charles S. Howard	11⁄16 M	1:46.60
1939	Third Degree	3	Wayne D. Wright	John M. Gaver Sr.	Greentree Stable	11⁄16 M	1:44.80
1938	Menow	3	Raymond Workman	Duval A. Headley	Hal Price Headley	11⁄16 M	1:44.00
1937	Heelfly	3	George Woolf	Lemuel T. Whitehill	Thomas Painter Morgan	11⁄16 M	1:45.20
1936	Tatterdemalion	3	Jack Westrope	Thomas J. Healey	Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney	11⁄16 M	1:44.80
1935	Good Gamble	3	Sam Renick	Bud Stotler	Alfred G. Vanderbilt II	11⁄16 M	1:45.40
1934	Discovery	3	John Bejshak	Bud Stotler	Alfred G. Vanderbilt II	11⁄16 M	1:45.20
1933	Sun Archer	3	Pete Walls	Jack Whyte	Willis Sharpe Kilmer	11⁄16 M	1:44.80
1932	Dark Secret	3	Hank Mills	James E. Fitzsimmons	Wheatley Stable	11⁄16 M	1:45.40
1931	Tambour	3	Frank Coltiletti	Preston M. Burch	Preston M. Burch	11⁄16 M	1:45.20
1930	Spinach	3	Alfred Robertson	Clyde S. Phillips	William Ziegler Jr.	11⁄16 M	1:47.40
1929	Rose of Sharon	3	Charles E. Allen	Daniel E. Stewart	Johnson N. Camden Jr.	11⁄16 M	1:46.40
1928	Sun Beau	3	John Craigmyle	William Short	Willis Sharpe Kilmer	11⁄16 M	1:46.00
1927	Jock	3	Eddie Ambrose	John F. Schorr	Edward B. McLean	11⁄16 M	1:44.60
1926	Chance Play	3	Earl Sande	G. Hamilton Keene	Log Cabin Stable	11⁄16 M	1:47.00
1925	Senalado	3	Edgar Barnes	Thomas J. Healey	Richard T. Wilson Jr.	11⁄16 M	1:46.20
1924	Donaghee	3	Fred Sharpe	Joseph P. Smith	James W. Bean	11⁄16 M	1:46.20
1923	Dunlin	3	Chick Lang	J. Woods Garth	Joshua S. Cosden	11⁄16 M	1:49.00
1922	Lucky Hour	3	Andy Schuttinger	Roy Waldron	Lexington Stable	11⁄16 M	1:46.60
1921	Tryster	3	Frank Coltiletti	James G. Rowe Sr.	Harry Payne Whitney	11⁄16 M	1:46.40
1920	Man o' War	3	Clarence Kummer	Louis Feustel	Glen Riddle Farm	11⁄16 M	1:44.80
1919	Sir Barton	3	Tommy Nolan	H. Guy Bedwell	J. K. L. Ross	11⁄16 M	1:46.40
1918	Be Frank	2	Lavelle Ensor	William Jennings Jr.	Calumet Stable (Cornelius M. Garrison)	1 M	1:39.20
1917	Recount	2	Andy Schuttinger	A. J. Goldsborough	Andrew Miller	1 M	1:41.60
1916	Bondage	2	R. Ball	Clyde S. Phillips	James Arthur	1 M	1:40.00
1915	King Neptune	2	Clarence Turner	B. B. Larrick	John S. Tyree	1 M	1:43.20
1914	Sharpshooter	2	Kenneth Karrick	William H. Karrick	Schuyler L. Parsons	1 M	1:39.40

References

• New York Times article on the 1921 Potomac Handicap