The Display Handicap was an American long distance Thoroughbred horse race held annually from 1955 through 1990. A race for 3-year-olds and up, it was run at the Jamaica Race Course from inception through 1958 at a distance of 2 miles. In 1959 the race was moved permanently to the newly renovated Aqueduct Racetrack after which the Jamaica track was closed and the property sold to real estate developers. From 1959 through 1969 it was contested at 2 miles then its final two decades was run at a distance of miles. The Display Handicap was traditionally held on the last day of racing in New York City for that calendar year. It began ending the season on December 31, 1976, when year-round racing was introduced in New York.

The race was aptly named for Display, a son of Fair Play (as was Man o' War, elected #1 in the Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century). Display was noted for being able to carry heavy weights over marathon distances successfully. The Display Handicap was distinctive for the fact that many horses who normally ran in claiming races (but possessed abundant stamina) would be entered in it, and a few such horses went on to win the event. In 1978, Seaney Bear nosed out Framarco, another horse who ran mostly in claiming races. They competed in one of the two divisions of the race which were run in that year, necessitated by an unusually high number of horses entered in the race. Although the race was for 3-year-olds and up, it was rare for a 3-year-old to win it; when In the Ruff won the 1983 running he became the first 3-year-old winner of the Display since Dean Carl in 1963, and the first ever at the -mile distance.

The Display Handicap was run in two divisions in 1974 and 1978 but in its later years field sizes became progressively smaller, with only five starters in what would prove to be the final running on December 31, 1990. The discontinuing of the Display Handicap left the Valedictory Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario (run at miles) as the longest stakes race run on the dirt in North America.

Historical notes Mrs. Edward E. Robbins' Midafternoon came into the 1956 Display Handicap having already won two of that year's important races, the Metropolitan and Massachusetts Handicaps. In winning the Display, Midafternoon set a new Jamaica Race Course record with a time of 3:29 3/5 for 2 miles.

Primordial II was an Argentine-bred who had been racing in Venezuela for trainer Laffit Pincay Sr., father of Laffit Pincay Jr. who in 1966 would emigrate to the United States where would become one of the most successful in American racing history and a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. Primordial II was brought to the United States to run in the mile and one-half Washington, D.C. International Stakes. The 1962 Venezuelan Horse of the Year finished sixth to the legendary American runner Kelso but came back to win the two-mile Display Handicap by eight lengths over the heavily favored Christiana Stables runner Smart.

Paraje, an Argentine-bred bought as a two-year-old by the Venezuelan-owned Stud Los Libertadores who would race him in Venezuela until being sold in late 1970 to American businessman Sigmund Sommer. Paraje won the 1971 Display Handicap in track record time then won it again in each of the next two years. In the 1973 edition Paraje set a new American and world record time of 3:47 4/5 for miles on dirt. Paraje's owner, Sigmund Sommer, would win this race a record total five times.

The only other horse to win the race more than once was Louis R. Rowan and Wheelock Whitney Jr.'s Quicken Tree who first won it in 1967 and after not running in the 1968 race, came back to win it again in 1969, defeating Hydrologist by 7 lengths.

The 1976 race was won by Frampton Delight when Cunning Trick was disqualified for interference as the two battled down the homestretch.

Records Speed record: 3:47.80 @ miles (12 runnings) – Paraje (1973) 3:29.60 @ 2 miles (4 runnings) – Midafternoon (1956) 3:20.20 @ 2 miles (22 runnings) – Quicken Tree (1969)

Most wins: 3 – Paraje (1971, 1972, 1973)

Most wins by a jockey: 6 – Jorge Velásquez (1968, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1979)

Most wins by a trainer: 5 – Pancho Martin (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973)

Most wins by an owner: 5 – Sigmund Sommer (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1978)

Winners Year Winner Age Jockey Trainer Owner Dist. (Miles) Time Win$ Gr.1990Blackhawk's Ghost3Dennis CarrWilliam V. TerrillAratrac Farm2 M4:02.60$50,940L1989Passing Ships5Ángel Cordero Jr.Robert P. KlesarisGold-n-Oats Stable (Marisa Anne Lizza)2 M3:55.60$51,390G31988Easy N Dirty5Jorge VelásquezPaulino O. OrtizPaulino O. Ortiz2 M3:53.40$48,330G31987Jane's Dilemma6José A. SantosRichard W. SmallRobert E. Meyerhoff2 M3:56.40$70,290G31986Fabulous Move4Chris AntleyOscar S. Barrera Sr.Oscar S. Barrera Sr.2 M3:56.00$54,000G31985Erin Bright5Frank Lovato Jr.C. R. McGaughey IIIOgden Mills Phipps2 M4:00.80$54,090G31984Putting Green4Ruben HernandezChester RossSeymour Cohn2 M3:56.20$57,960G31983In the Ruff3Robbie DavisGasper S. MoscheraAlbert Davis2 M3:55.40$51,570G31982Nice Pirate4Ángel Cordero Jr.Thomas M. WalshMargarite Kern2 M3:57.00$51,030G31981Field Cat4Eric BeitiaJ. Elliott BurchCornelius Vanderbilt Whitney2 M3:51.80$50,940G31980Peat Moss5Frank Lovato Jr.Gilbert PuentesMurray M. Garren2 M3:57.80$50,580G31979Ethnarch4Jorge VelásquezDominick A. Imperio2 M3:55.80$50,220G31978-1Seaney Bear4Vincent Bracciale Jr.Vincent R. NocellaRichard R. Rand2 M3:53.60$31,740G31978-2Proud Arion4Eddie MaplePancho MartinSigmund Sommer2 M3:55.00$31,890G31977Gallivantor5Jorge VelásquezJoseph A. TrovatoJack R. Hogan2 M3:50.80$32,490G31976Frampton Delight4Jean CruguetEverett W. KingLen Ragozin2 M3:54.80$33,510G31975Sharp Gary4Sandy HawleyRobert J. FrankelEdward R. Scharps2 M3:52.20$32,5201974-1Outdoors5Daryl MontoyaJohn W. RussellOgden Phipps2 M3:51.60$32,6701974-2Copte4Jorge VelásquezAngel Penna Sr.Daniel Wildenstein2 M3:50.40$32,5201973Paraje 7Jorge VelásquezPancho MartinSigmund Sommer2 M3:47.80$33,8401972Paraje6Jorge VelásquezPancho MartinSigmund Sommer2 M3:56.40$33,5701971Paraje 5Laffit Pincay Jr.Pancho MartinSigmund Sommer2 M3:52.00$33,8401970Hitchcock4Eddie BelmontePancho MartinSigmund Sommer2 M3:21.20$34,3801969Quicken Tree6Fernando Alvarez William T. CanneyLouis R. Rowan & Wheelock Whitney Jr.2 M3:20.20$39,1301968Fast Count5Jorge VelásquezEverett W. KingSyl George Stable (Sylvia Chapman)2 M3:23.60$36,2051967Quicken Tree4Fernando Alvarez Clyde TurkLouis R. Rowan & Wheelock Whitney Jr.2 M3:25.00$38,0251966Damelo II5Manuel YcazaLaz BarreraManual R. Giberga2 M3:24.60$36,6601965Brave Lad4Braulio BaezaSylvester E. VeitchFitz Eugene Dixon Jr.2 M3:26.60$37,1151964Primordial II7Laffit Pincay Sr.Santiago L. LedwithSantiago L. Ledwith2 M3:28.40$36,5301963Dean Carl3Bobby UsseryPaul BongarzonePaul Bongarzone2 M3:21.80$36,4651962Sensitivo5Manuel YcazaArnold N. WinickM/M Robert F. Bensinger2 M3:21.80$36,9201961Hillsborough4Don PierceEdward A. NeloyPeter D. Fuller2 M3:29.80$38,0101960Nickel Boy5Manuel YcazaWalter A. KelleyElmendorf (Maxwell Gluck)2 M3:21.20$35,9351959Beau Diable6Eric GuerinGeorge P. "Maje" OdomLaudy L. Lawrence2 M3:22.60$37,4901958Civet5Bill PeakeT. F. McMahonBrynalan Stable (E. Austin Byrne)2 M3:34.20$36,5151957Oh Johnny4Bobby UsseryNorman R. McLeodMrs. Wallace Gilroy2 M3:32.20$39,5001956Midafternoon4Eddie ArcaroThomas M. WallerMrs. Edward E. Robbins2 M3:29.60$19,6501955War Command5Bill BolandH. Allen JerkensAlbert J. Mesler2 M3:32.60$20,400

See also Display Handicap race

References