Hamilton Derby Explained

Class:Discontinued stakes
Horse Race:Hamilton Derby
Location:Hamilton Jockey Club Racetrack,
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Inaugurated:1907
Race Type:Thoroughbred – Flat racing
Distance:1 1⁄4 miles (10 furlongs; 2,012 m)
Surface:Dirt
Track:left-handed
Qualification:3-year-old

The Hamilton Derby was a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race first run on June 4, 1907, at the Hamilton Jockey Club Racetrack in Hamilton, Ontario.[1] Open to three-year-old horses of either sex, it was contested over a distance of one and one-quarter miles on dirt.[2]

Historical notes

The first four editions of the Hamilton Derby were won by Canadian-owned horses but passage of the Hart–Agnew anti-betting legislation in 1908 by the New York Legislature led to a compete shutdown of racing in 1911 and 1912 in that state.[3] [4] As a result, American owners began sending horses to compete in Canada and stalls at the Hamilton Jockey Club track were in great demand.[5] The Hamilton Derby of 1911 saw only five starters, all of which were owned by Americans. Leading the way was Kentucky Derby winner Meridian plus the Derby runnerup Governor Gray, Richard Wilson Jr.'s Naushon, as well as the colt Pagod, owned by Lily A. Livingston, the former proprietor of the Rancocas Stud Farm and racing stable. It would be August Belmont Jr.'s Whist who would win the race under jockey Eddie Dugan.[6] With American stables then competing regularly in the Hamilton Derby, it earned a good reputation as confirmed by a March 17, 1914 Daily Racing Form report that it was "always one of the great three-year-old races of the season" in Canada.[7]

Records

Speed record:

Most wins by a jockey:

Most wins by a trainer:

Most wins by an owner:

Winners

Year
Winner
Age
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Dist.
(Miles)
Time
Win$
1926Token3Raymond PeternellBert S. MichellGreen Briar Stable (Frank D. Shea)11:55.20$3,540
19253Bert KennedyWilliam H. BringloeEdward F. Seagram2:05.60$
1924Dixie Smith3F. LeePreston M. BurchPreston M. Burch2:08.20$4,590
1923Caladium3Tom ParringtonJ. B. SmithCharles H. Hughes2:08.00$4,700
1922Spanish Maize3Clarence TurnerHenry McDanielJ. K. L. Ross2:06.20$4,510
1921Golden Sphere3Robert LancasterWilliam H. BringloeSeagram Stable2:05.80$4,710
1920Paul Weidel3G. A. StackMose LowensteinMose & Jake Lowenstein2:07.20$4,480
1919No races held due to Government wartime rationing.
1918
1917Iron Cross II3Roy EstepE. J. SaltCapt. W. J. Press2:13.80$3,770
1916Achievement 3J. MetcalfRichard F. Carman Sr.Wifrid Viau2:06.40$3,760
1915The Finn3George ByrneEdward W. HeffnerHarry C. Hallenbeck2:05.80$3,630
1914Sandbar3Eddie AmbroseMichael J. DalyMichael J. Daly2:06.00$3,310
1913Buskin3Robert M. SmallJohn WhalenJohn Whalen2:05.40$2,290
1912Froglegs3James ButwellJohn F. SchorrJohn W. Schorr2:09.40$2,530
1911Whist3Eddie DuganJohn WhalenAugust Belmont Jr.2:05.00$1,950
1910Chief Kee3Phil MusgraveEdward GleasonJohn Dyment2:06.40$1,950
1909Detective3Dalton McCarthyWoodstock Stable (Charles Boyle)2:08.60$1,450
1908Uncle Toby3Dave NicolJohn Dyment Jr.John Dyment Sr.2:07.40$1,450
1907Tourenne3Eddie KunzEdward WhyteKirkfield Stable (Alex Mackenzie)2:10.40$1,450

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tourenne Wins Hamilton Derby . Daily Racing Form. University of Kentucky Archives. June 5, 1907 . March 24, 2020.
  2. Web site: Hamilton Derby to Chief Kee: Crowd of 10,000 Turf Devotees See Canadian-Owned Colt Win Chief Event of Hamilton Opening . Daily Racing Form. University of Kentucky Archives. June 19, 1910 . March 23, 2020.
  3. Web site: Penalties in the New York Bills . Daily Racing Form. University of Kentucky Archives. January 18, 1908. October 26, 2018.
  4. Web site: Race Track Bill Defeated In Senate; Measure Modifying Directors' Liability for Gambling Fails of Passage. The New York Times. July 14, 1911. September 2, 2017.
  5. Web site: Hamilton Stalls In Great Demand . Daily Racing Form. University of Kentucky Archives. June 7, 1911 . March 24, 2020.
  6. Web site: Whist Is Derby Winner: Belmont Colt Leads Meridian And Governor Gray To Finish At Hamilton . Daily Racing Form. University of Kentucky Archives. June 18, 1911 . March 25, 2020.
  7. Web site: More Money for Hamilton Derby . Daily Racing Form. University of Kentucky Archives. March 17, 1914 . March 24, 2020.