The Laurel Futurity is an American

Thoroughbred horse race Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

held annually in late September at

Laurel Park Racecourse Laurel Park, formerly Laurel Race Course, is an American thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred racetrack located just outside Laurel, Maryland which opened in 1911. The track is miles in circumference. Its name was changed to "Laurel Race Course" fo ...

Laurel, Maryland Laurel is a city in Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington and Baltimore on the banks of the Patuxent River. While the city limits are entirely in northern Prince George's County, outlying developments extend into Anne Arunde ...

. Run over a distance of miles on

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricult ...

, at one time it was a

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

stakes race on dirt, and one of the richest and most important races for two-year-old American

thoroughbreds The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are con ...

. When the race was moved from the dirt to the turf in 2005, it lost its graded status and was subsequently ineligible for grading in 2006. The race was finally cancelled in 2008 for economic reasons. It was announced by Laurel Park that the famed race would be restored in 2011 and run on October 8 at 6 furlongs. Originally known as the Pimlico Futurity (the race began at

Pimlico Race Course Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Ol ...

in 1921, only moving to Laurel in 1969 where it was briefly known as the Pimlico-Laurel Futurity). Past winners include

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

champions

Count Fleet Count Fleet (March 24, 1940 – December 3, 1973) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the sixth winner of the American Triple Crown. He won the Belmont Stakes by a then record margin of twenty-five lengths. After an undefeated ...

, Citation,

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ame ...

and

Affirmed Affirmed (February 21, 1975 – January 12, 2001) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the eleventh winner of the American Triple Crown. Affirmed was well known for his famous rivalry with Alydar, whom he met ten times, includi ...

, who defeated his arch rival

Alydar Alydar (March 23, 1975 – November 15, 1990) was an American Thoroughbred race horse and sire. A chestnut colt, he was most famous for finishing a close second to Affirmed in all three races of the 1978 Triple Crown. With each successive ...

in this race.

Records

Speed record: * miles – 1:40.17 – Barbaro (2005) * miles – 1:49.35 – Scottish Halo (1999) * 1 mile – 1:39.00 – High Strung (1928) * furlongs – 1:30.70 – Appealing Skier (1995) Most wins by an owner: * 4 – Greentree Stable (1927, 1948, 1950, 1982) Most wins by a jockey: * 3 –

Edgar Prado Edgar S. Prado (Lima, June 12, 1967) is a Peruvian-born American jockey, a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame jockey in thoroughbred horse racing. His big break came in 1997 when he won 536 races, making him the fourth rider in history to win 500 races ...

(1994, 1998, 2007) * 3 –

Bill Shoemaker William Lee Shoemaker (August 19, 1931 – October 12, 2003) was an American jockey. For 29 years he held the world record for total professional jockey victories. Early life Referred to as "Bill", "Willie," and "The Shoe", William Lee Sho ...

(1957, 1958, 1961) * 3 – Douglas Dodson (1944, 1947, 1954) * 3 – John Gilbert (1932, 1940, 1946) * 3 – Albert Johnson (1921, 1922, 1923) Most wins by a trainer: * 3 – George M. Odom (1924, 1928, 1955)

Winners

* ‡ In 2005, the race was switched to the turf. * † Fathers Image finished 1st in 1965 but was disqualified. * † Privileged won in 1936 but was disqualified for interference and set back to last. * # The race was run in two divisions in 1922.

References

{{reflist

External links

Barbaro's win in the 2005 Laurel FuturityVideo at YouTube of Affirmed and Alydar in the 1977 Laurel FuturityMorvich: Autobiography of a Horse in the Internet Archive
Horse races in Maryland Laurel Park Racecourse Flat horse races for two-year-olds Turf races in the United States Previously graded stakes races in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1921 1921 establishments in Maryland

Records

Winners

See also

References

External links