Seminole Handicap

The Seminole Handicap is a discontinued American Thoroughbred horse race first run as the Inaugural Handicap on the January 14, 1932 opening day of the newly constructed Hialeah Park Race Track in Hialeah, Florida. Shut down in 1926 as a result of its destruction by the Great Miami Hurricane, the racetrack property was bought and rebuilt by Joseph E. Widener.

Seminole Handicap
Discontinued stakes race
LocationHialeah Park Race Track, Hialeah, Florida,
United States
Inaugurated1932
Race typeThoroughbred - Flat racing
Race information
Distance1 1/8 miles (9 (Furlongs)
SurfaceDirt
Trackleft-handed
QualificationThree-year-olds and up

Originally named the Inaugural Handicap and run at a distance of six furlongs, the race was created to be a featured event on the track's annual opening day of racing. The first winner was Flying Heels, a son of the 1925 Kentucky Derby winner Flying Ebony.[1] [2]

A guest of Joseph Widener on that opening day in 1932 was the Irish trainer Cecil Boyd-Rochfort whose career would include at least one win in each of the five British Classic Races as well as earning five British National training championships. Of the new Hialeah track facility, Boyd-Rochfort called it "the last word in race tracks and beauty."[3]

Among the most notable winners of the Seminole were Citation in 1948, Kelso in 1963, and Forego in 1975. All three would become U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductees.[4] [5] [6]

Hialeah Park closed at the end of 2001 meaning that year's April 15 running of the Seminole Handicap was its last.[7]

References
  1. "Flying Heels Wins As Hialeah Opens". New York Times, Section Sports, page 27. 1932-01-15. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  2. "Flying Heels Victor in Hialeah Inaugural: Vander Pool". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1932-01-15. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  3. "Irish Trainers Visit Ends: Captain Cecil Boyd-Rochfort Praises Widener and Hialeah Park". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1932-02-17. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  4. "Citation unmatched for 25 years". ESPN Classic. 2003-11-19. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  5. "Kelso Romps To Easy Victory In Hialeah Seminole Handicap". The Pittsburgh Press, page 65. 1963-02-10. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  6. "Pleasure Foolish and Forgone". Sports Illustrated Vault. 1975-02-24. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  7. "Fappie's Notebook takes Seminole Handicap". The Palm Beach Post, page 90. 2001-04-16. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
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