The Narragansett Special was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Narragansett Park in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. At the time of its inaugural running in 1934, the Narragansett Special offered a purse of $32,500 added money making it the biggest race run at the track. Only Suffolk Downs' Massachusetts Handicap, which ran the next summer, had a bigger purse in New England. Both rich contests drew the best talent that the nation had to offer.
Open to horses age three and older, the race was run over a distance of miles (9.5 furlongs). The Special started at the top of the Narragansett stretch with a run of 3/16ths to the wire and then one full lap around the one mile dirt oval.
Historical notes Across its history, the "Special" was run in late summer and fall, over fast and sloppy tracks, and even in the snow one year (Wise Margin – 1955).
Time Supply, under jockey Tommy Luther, won the very first Special. A. A. Baroni's Top Row and Rosemont, for William duPont, won the next two editions.
An instant success, the race continued to attract the top horses from across the United States. 1937 had Mrs. Ella K. Bryson's gelding Calumet Dick, with Hilton Dabson riding, captured the event. A former Calumet Farm runner that loved the mud, Calumet Dick upset Wheatley Stable's Snark and national superstar Seabiscuit. The 'Biscuit was made the betting favorite by his fans, but proved his dislike for "off" going and saw a seven race winning streak snapped when he finished third on the sloppy track under high-weight of 132 lbs.
Over the years, the race was won by racing stars such as future U. S. Racing Hall of Fame inductees Challedon (won:1939 / inducted:1977) and Whirlaway (won:1942, inducted:1959).
In 1941, Glen Riddle Farm's War Relic upset that year's Triple Crown winner, Whirlaway.
Top jockeys Eddie Arcaro, Ted Atkinson, Johnny Longden, George Woolf, and Jack Westrope are among the riding stars that won the "Special". Lucky Draw equaled the World Record for the distance, while carving his name in the Track Records Narragansett Park, when he defeated Pavot and Armed in 1946. Many considered this to be the race of the year.Providence Journal 9/15/46
The event was not run in 1947 due to an outbreak of Swamp Fever. The outbreak of the disease, with an official title of Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA), had caused the death of 77 horses at Rockingham Park that summer. The inter-state shipping of horses that Fall was greatly restricted.
The 1948 edition had Rhode Island in the middle of a record late August "heat wave" with temperatures of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. When added with the cancellation of the previous year, the race drew its smallest attendance figure of only 12,612 people. Donor, under jockey Arnold Kirkland, won the race for owner W. Deering Howe.
In 1949, Donor, a son of Challedon, became the only two-time winner of the race by defeating the Santa Anita Handicap winner of 1949, Vulcan's Forge; and Calumet Farm's 1949 Kentucky Derby winner, Ponder. In a three-horse photo finish, Warren Mehrtens had his mount's head in front at the wire. More than 30,000 were in attendance at this race.The Providence Journal 9/17/49
On September 19, 1953, Sailed Away, with New England riding legend Anthony DeSpirito "up" for trainer R. E. Harper and Rhode Island–based Vigilant Stable, became the only local outfit to win the Special.
1954 revealed Alfred G. Vanderbilt II in the paddock as his Social Outcast was saddled for a popular 3-length victory. The purse swelled to $42,450, making it the richest running. It also had the largest field as 18 horses made the post. Social Outcast broke from the 15 hole and as jockey Eric Guerin made the lead he lost his right stirrup in deep stretch. Guerin did well to remain on the horse as "Old Sosh" bolted towards the outside rail.The Providence Journal 11/7/54
Vanderbilt, after reducing the size of his racing stable through a dispersal sale, brought another star from his class of 1950 to Gansett. The six year old Find capped his 1956 season with an easy three length victory in the Special.
By the late 1950s, attendance and betting handle were down at the track. It was harder to attract the best horses to the region and Narragansett Park and the Special declined in prestige. Without a breeding industry in New England, the quality of horse racing throughout the area went into a steep decline. There were also betting scandals. The purse was lowered to $25,000 added in 1955 and did not keep pace with other top races. That year did have Jim Conzelman coach of the NFL world champion Providence Steam Rollers of 1928 present the winning trophy to owner Sam Tufano after Wise Margin's impressive score.
Finally, in 1963, one last future Hall of Fame horse, Gun Bow (inducted HoF:1999), won his first stakes race in the Narragansett Special. He drew off by 13 lengths with jockey Steve Brooks aboard. Gun Bow would gain fame by having stirring duels with Kelso, the unofficial "horse of the 1960s". In true 'Gansett fashion, the race was run on a Friday and drew a paid attendance of 6,877.
The 1963 running was the 29th, and final, edition of this once special race.
Records Speed record: 1:54 3/5 – Lucky Draw (1946) (equaled World record for dirt)
Most wins: 2 – Donor (1948, 1949)
Most wins by a jockey: 3 – 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 Dist. (Miles) Time1963Gun Bow3Steve BrooksEdward A. NeloyGedney Farm1 M1:58.801962Wise Flushing4Manuel YcazaKay Erik JensenGustave A. Smith1 M1:58.801961Count Amber4James W. Davern Jr.Lucien LaurinReginald N. Webster1 M1:58.401960Reinzi5Jimmy CombestE. Barry RyanJ. Frederic Gagel1 M1:57.401959Net Ball4Bill SkuseWillard C. Freeman Warner G. Morton1 M1:57.001958Sharpsburg5Howard GrantWarren A. Croll Jr.Roy E. Faircloth1 M1:57.001957Oh Johnny4William BolandNorman R. McLeodMrs. Wallace Gilroy1 M1:57.601956Find6Ted AtkinsonWilliam C. WinfreyAlfred G. Vanderbilt II1 M1:57.001955Wise Margin5Bobby UsserySam N. EdmundsonSamuel Tufano1 M1:58.401954Social Outcast4Eric GuerinWilliam C. WinfreyAlfred G. Vanderbilt II1 M1:58.001953Sailed Away4Anthony DeSpiritoR. E. HarperVigilant Stable1 M1:56.601952General Staff4James StoutJames McGeeLarry MacPhail1 M1:56.401951Hall of Fame3Ted AtkinsonJohn M. Gaver Sr.Greentree Stable1 M1:56.801950De Luxe4Eugene RodriguezFrank GilpinTrue Davis Jr.1 M1:57.601949Donor5Warren MehrtensGeorge P. OdomMrs. W. Deering Howe1 M1:56.401948Donor4Arnold KirklandGeorge P. OdomW. Deering Howe1 M1:57.401947 Race not held1946Lucky Draw5Conn McCrearyBert MulhollandGeorge D. Widener Jr.1 M1:54.601945Westminster4Willie GarnerJames McGeeMorris Wexler1 M1:58.001944Paperboy6Warren MehrtensJimmy ColemanW-L Ranch Co.1 M1:56.001943Market Wise5Johnny LongdenGeorge W. CarrollLouis Tufano1 M1:55.401942Whirlaway4George WoolfBen A. JonesCalumet Farm1 M1:56.401941War Relic3Ted AtkinsonWalter A. CarterGlen Riddle Farm1 M1:57.201940Hash4Eddie ArcaroJohn M. Gaver Sr.Greentree Stable1 M1:57.001939Challedon3Harry RichardsLouis SchaeferWilliam L. Brann1 M1:56.601938Stagehand3Jack WestropeEarl SandeCol. Maxwell Howard1 M1:56.201937Calumet Dick5Hilton DabsonHarry Baker Ella K. Bryson1 M1:57.001936Rosemont 4Harry RichardsRichard E. HandlenFoxcatcher Farms1 M1:56.401935Top Row4Wayne WrightAlbert A. BaroniAlbert A. Baroni1 M1:55.801934Time Supply3Tommy LutherFrank C. TravisMrs. Frank A. Carreaud1 M1:57.00
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