| Surface: | Dirt |
| Class: | Discontinued stakes |
| Horse Race: | Scarsdale Handicap |
| Location: | Empire City Race Track Yonkers, New York, USA |
| Inaugurated: | 1918-1947 |
| Race Type: | Thoroughbred - Flat racing |
| Website: | https://www.fairgroundsracecourse.com/ |
| Distance: | 1 mile, 70 yards (8.32 furlongs) |
| Track: | Left-handed |
| Qualification: | Three-year-olds and up |
The Scarsdale Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race open to horses age three and older first run on October 16, 1918, over a mile and seventy yards on dirt at Empire City Race Track in Yonkers, New York.
In its second year, the Scarsdale Handicap was run as the Westchester Handicap before reverting to its original name in 1920.
In 1942, Empire City Racetrack terminated flat racing and the facility reverted to hosting only harness racing events. After that, the Scarsdale Handicap was run at Jamaica Race Course in Jamaica, Queens, New York.
The 1918 inaugural running was won by War Cloud, a three-year-old colt who had finished fourth in that year's Kentucky Derby, won the Preakness Stakes and ran second in the Belmont Stakes. Two months earlier future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Roamer had broken Salvator's record for the mile that had stood for twenty-eight years. As such, bettors sent War Cloud off as the 7-5 second choice behind 4-5 favorite Roamer.[1]
The recently acquired Seabiscuit got his first stakes race win for new owner Charles Howard's on September 7, 1936, in the Governor's Handicap at the Detroit Fairgrounds Racetrack and then won the Hendrie Handicap at the same track on September 26. The colt continued to show his real talent under the care of trainer Tom Smith and jockey Red Pollard with his win in the Scarsdale Handicap on October 24, 1936.[2]
Purchased for $100 by owner/trainer Tommy Heard,[3] in 1942 Boysy became the first horse to win the Scarsdale twice. He came back the next year to capture the race for the third straight time, going wire-to-wire in winning by three lengths.[4]
In the 1946 Scarsdale, Albert Snider, one of the most promising young riders of the time, rode Polynesian to victory.[5] Snider would go on to become a first-string jockey with Calumet Farm and in 1948 was the regular jockey for the great Citation. He was scheduled to ride Citation in the U.S. Triple Crown series but disappeared on March 5, 1948, while fishing off the coast of Florida with two friends. Despite a lengthy and intensive search, their bodies were never recovered. Snider's death opened the door for Eddie Arcaro to ride Citation to win the Triple Crown.[6]
The Scarsdale Handicap's twenty-eighth and final running in 1947 was won by With Pleasure who defeated a stellar field that included two future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductees and the previous year's American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse. It was Gallorette who finished second, with Double Jay in third, Donor fourth, and Stymie, the then richest racehorse in United States history who finished sixth.[7]
Speed record:
Most wins:
Most wins by a jockey:
Most wins by a trainer:
Most wins by an owner:
| Year | Winner | Age | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Dist. (Miles) | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | With Pleasure | 4 | Jack Westrope | Thomas P. Fleming | Brolite Farm (Oscar E. Breault) | 1M, 70Yds | 1:44.60 |
| 1946 | Polynesian | 4 | Albert Snider | Morris H. Dixon | Gertrude T. Widener | 1M, 70Yds | 1:42.20 |
| 1945 | Buzfuz | 3 | Tommy Luther | Joseph B. Rosen | Sunshine Stable (Dan Chappell/Moze Rauzin) | 1M, 70Yds | 1:41.80 |
| 1944 | Seven Hearts | 4 | Paul Keiper | W. Graves Sparks | J. Graham Brown | 1M, 70Yds | 1:41.60 |
| 1943 | Boysy | 7 | Steve Brooks | Tommy Heard | Tommy Heard | 1M, 70Yds | 1:43.00 |
| 1942 | Boysy | 6 | Darrell Clingman | Tommy Heard | Tommy Heard | 1M, 70Yds | 1:44.60 |
| 1941 | Boysy | 5 | Jack Westrope | Tommy Heard | Tommy Heard | 1M, 70Yds | 1:42.20 |
| 1940 | Parasang | 3 | Leon Haas | James W. Healy | C. V. Whitney | 1M, 70Yds | 1:42.60 |
| 1939 | War Dog | 3 | Johnny Longden | Jack McPherson | Falaise Stable | 1M, 70Yds | 1:44.80 |
| 1938 | Clodion | 4 | Jack Westrope | Walter A. Carter | Walter A. Carter | 1M, 70Yds | 1:44.20 |
| 1937 | Esposa | 5 | Nick Wall | Matthew P. Brady | William Ziegler Jr. | 1M, 70Yds | 1:45.00 |
| 1936 | Seabiscuit | 3 | Red Pollard | Tom Smith | Charles S. Howard | 1M, 70Yds | 1:44.00 |
| 1935 | Psychic Bid | 3 | Mike Corona | Robert A. Smith | Brookmeade Stable | 1M, 70Yds | 1:42.00 |
| 1934 | King Saxon | 3 | Tommy Malley | Pat Knebelkamp | Pat Knebelkamp | 1M, 70Yds | 1:43.20 |
| 1932 | - 1933 | align=center colspan=8 | Race not held | ||||
| 1931 | Hibala | 3 | Willie Kelsay | Fred E. Kraft | Fred E. Kraft | 1M, 70Yds | 1:47.60 |
| 1930 | Questionnaire | 3 | Charles Kurtsinger | Andy Schuttinger | James Butler | 1M, 70Yds | 1:45.20 |
| 1929 | Polydor | 3 | Mack Garner | William J. Spiers | William Ziegler Jr. | 1M, 70Yds | 1:43.80 |
| 1928 | Genie | 3 | Willie Kelsay | Henry McDaniel | Gifford A. Cochran | 1M, 70Yds | 1:44.60 |
| 1927 | Black Panther | 3 | John Maiben | T. J. Healey | Walter J. Salmon Sr. | 1M, 70Yds | 1:45.60 |
| 1926 | Cloudland | 4 | John Maiben | Frank E. Brown | Frank E. Brown | 1M, 70Yds | 1:46.60 |
| 1925 | Blind Play | 4 | Clarence Kummer | Louis Feustel | Log Cabin Stable | 1M, 70Yds | 1:43.60 |
| 1924 | Lucky Play | 3 | Clarence Kummer | Louis Feustel | August Belmont Jr. | 1M | 1:39.40 |
| 1923 | Exodus | 5 | Frank Coltiletti | Scott P. Harlan | Greentree Stable | 1M | 1:38.80 |
| 1922 | Tryster | 4 | Lawrence Lyke | Scott P. Harlan | Westmont Stable (Lawrence Waterbury II/J. Leonard Replogie) | 1M | 1:38.20 |
| 1921 | Yellow Hand | 4 | C. H. Miller | A. J. Goldsborough | Charles A. Stoneham | 1M | 1:39.60 |
| 1920 | Cirrus | 4 | Lavelle Ensor | Sam Hildreth | Sam Hildreth | 1M | 1:39.80 |
| 1919 | Hannibal | 3 | James Butwell | T. J. Healey | Richard T. Wilson Jr. | 1M | 1:40.40 |
| 1918 | War Cloud | 3 | Johnny Loftus | Walter B. Jennings | A. Kingsley Macomber | 1M, 70Yds | 1:43.00 |