The American Legion Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York open to horses of either sex age three and older. It was contested over a distance of seven furlongs on dirt, except for 1948 and 1949 when it was set at one mile (8 furlongs). The race was run for thirty-two years from 1927 through 1948.
Historical notes The inaugural running took place on August 6, 1927 and was won Cheops, a three-year-old brown colt owned by the very prominent Rancocas Stable. The race was created to honor American war veterans but during World War II also became a fund raising event to support the war effort. In 1943 government wartime restrictions meant the race had to be hosted that year by the Belmont Park racetrack in Elmont, New York.
During the July 26, 1937 racing program that included the American Legion Handicap, tragedy struck the Saratoga facilities when, during a severe electrical storm, a bolt of lightning killed one horse and knocked eight others unconscious. The lightning struck the barn housing Thoroughbreds owned by King Ranch plus those of Anna Corning. The lightning then hit a stall killing the two-year-old filly Gino Vive belonging to Willis Sharpe Kilmer.
The 1938 race was won by Alfred G. Vanderbilt Jr.'s Airflame whose winning time broke an eighteen-year-old track record.
The Canadian owned Arise, who had traveled to Saratoga in 1949 and won the prestigious Travers Stakes, returned to win the 1950 running of the American Legion Handicap and would go on to a career that would see him inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 1983.
The thirty-second and final running of the American Legion Handicap took place on August 8, 1958. On a sloppy racetrack, the five-year-old horse Reneged easily won by five lengths, beating eight other runners.
Records Speed record: 1:22.20 @ 7 furlongs : Greek Warrior (1945)
Most wins: 2 - Microphone (1932, 1933) 2 - Nedayr (1939, 1940) 2 - Tea-Maker (1951, 1952)
Most wins by a jockey: 3 - Hedley Woodhouse (1952, 1954, 1956)
Most wins by a trainer: 3 - Phillip M. Walker (1932, 1933, 1935)
Most wins by an owner: 3 - Joseph E. Widener (1928, 1930, 1941) 3 - Greentree Stable (1934, 1944, 1955) 3 - Alfred G. Vanderbilt Jr. (1936, 1938, 1940)
Winners Year Winner Age Jockey Trainer Owner Dist. (Miles) Time1958Reneged5Bobby UsseryHomer C. PardueWoodley Lane Farm (Steven Wilson, Joseph Strauss, Lafayette Ward)7 F1:24.001957Ricci Tavi4Eldon NelsonHenry S. ClarkChristiana Stables7 F1:25.001956Ambergris4Hedley WoodhouseWinbert F. MulhollandGeorge D. Widener Jr.7 F1:24.801955Gold Box3Ted AtkinsonJohn M. Gaver Sr.Greentree Stable7 F1:24.801954Fisherman3Hedley WoodhouseSylvester E. VeitchCornelius Vanderbilt Whitney7 F1:24.001953Eatontown7Bennie GreenHugh DuffordBetty Block Roberts7 F1:25.001952Tea-Maker9Hedley WoodhouseJ. Dallet ByersF. Ambrose Clark7 F1:25.601951Tea-Maker8Warren MehrtensJ. Dallet ByersF. Ambrose Clark7 F1:25.401950Arise4Robert PermaneJames C. BentleyAddison Stable (Harry Addison, Sr. & W. A. "Jack" Addison)7 F1:23.601949Manyunk4Gordon GlissonGeorge E. RobertsHenry W. Collins7 F1:25.401948Miss Disco4Eric GuerinAnthony PascumaSydney S. Schupper7 F1:25.601947Pujante6Ruperto DonosoHoratio LuroW. Arnold Hanger7 F1:24.401946Scholarship4Arnold KirklandKenneth L. W. Force Jr.George G. Gilbert Jr.7 F1:23.401945Greek Warrior3Johnny LongdenWilliam M. BoothWilliam G. Helis Sr.7 F1:22.201944Devil Diver5Eddie ArcaroJohn M. Gaver Sr.Greentree Stable7 F1:23.601943With Regards4Johnny LongdenTed D. GrimesJosephine Grimes7 F1:23.801942Scotland Light3Conn McCrearyEddie HaywardBarrington Stable (Thomas M. Howell)7 F1:24.201941Roman4Don MeadeDaniel E. StewartJoseph E. Widener7 F1:25.001940Nedayr5Basil JamesLee McCoyAlfred G. Vanderbilt Jr.7 F1:23.601939Nedayr4George SeaboWilliam A. CrawfordWillis Sharpe Kilmer7 F1:24.001938Airflame4Lee FallonJoseph H. StotlerAlfred G. Vanderbilt Jr.7 F1:23.201937Jay Jay4Harry RichardsFrank GarrettHoward Bruce7 F1:25.401936Good Gamble4Lee FallonJoseph H. StotlerAlfred G. Vanderbilt Jr.7 F1:24.201935Only One4Robert MerrittPhillip M. WalkerMrs. W. Deering Howe7 F1:25.001934Black Buddy3Silvio CoucciWilliam BrennanGreentree Stable7 F1:24.801933Microphone4Silvio CoucciPhillip M. WalkerSage Stable (Harry W. Sage)7 F1:27.201932Microphone3John GilbertPhillip M. WalkerSage Stable (Harry W. Sage)7 F1:27.201931Con Amore4Pat RemillardWilliam IrvineJohn William Young "J. W. Y." Martin7 F1:24.001930Mr. Sponge3Mack GarnerPeter W. CoyneJoseph E. Widener7 F1:24.201929Buddy Bauer5Mack GarnerHerbert J. ThompsonIdle Hour Stock Farm8 F1:36.601928Osmand4Earl SandePeter W. CoyneJoseph E. Widener8 F1:39.201927Cheops3Frank CatroneSam HildrethRancocas Stable7 F1:25.40
External links Pathé News video - Airflame" wins American Legion Handicap at Saratoga
References