The Annapolis Subscription Plate is the name given both to the first recorded formal horse race in colonial Maryland and to the silver trophy awarded to the winner of the race. It is the second oldest known horse racing trophy in America.History of Maryland Jockey Club
Retrieved January 21, 2010

History

The race took place on the South river near

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

in May 1743. Charles Carroll (1703–1783) - whose son, also called Charles Carroll, would later sign the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

in 1776 - wagered that his horse would win in a 3-mile race. Carroll's rival was

Dungannon Dungannon (, ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the second-largest town in the county (after Omagh) and had a population of 16,282 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2021 Census. The Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Counci ...

, owned by the tobacco planter and horse breeder George Hume Steuart who imported the thoroughbred from England. The race was held at

Parole, Maryland Parole, a suburb of Annapolis, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,922 at the 2010 census. It has several major roads intersect at the western edge of the state capital, Annapo ...

, at what would later become the Parole Hunt Club. Dungannon won the race, establishing a tradition of horse racing at Parole that would last until the club's sale and redevelopment as a shopping center in 1962. The silver plate itself - in reality more of a bowl than a plate - is now displayed in the

Baltimore Museum of Art The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) in Baltimore, Maryland, is an art museum that was founded in 1914. The BMA's collection of 95,000 objects encompasses more than 1,000 works by Henri Matisse anchored by the Cone Collection of modern art, ...

, and was made by the Annapolis

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exact synonyms, as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are (or were, at least) largely the same but differed in that t ...

John Inch (1721–1763).Museum-Quarterly of the Baltimore Museum of Art April–June 1936 Retrieved January 21, 2010 Punch bowls were popular as racing trophies in the 18th century. It is the oldest surviving silver object made in the state of Maryland, the oldest horseracing trophy in North America and the second oldest trophy of any kind on the continent. Racing was suspended during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, but a meeting of the Jockey Club took place on Saturday, March 1, 1783, at Mr Mann's tavern in Annapolis, at which a number of Dr Steuart's descendants were present. Club rules were set down including that the plate given by the club should be run on the first Tuesday of November, at Annapolis, that the prize money should be "sixty guineas", and that the annual subscription should be "three guineas".

Modern era

The original plate was donated to the Baltimore Museum of Art by Mrs Alice Key Montell and Mrs Sarah Steuart Hartshorne. A solid silver replica of similar weight and dimensions mirroring the original Annapolis Subscription Plate was commissioned in 1955 by the Maryland Jockey Club.

That replica, "The Dungannon Bowl", is a perpetual trophy given annually to the winner of the

Dixie Stakes The Dinner Party Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in mid-May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the eighth-oldest graded stakes race in the United States and the oldest stakes race in Maryland and all o ...

, the oldest stakes race run in Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic states. The race has been revived in certain recent years by the descendants of Dr Steuart, who still live at Dodon today.Article on Annapolis Subscription Plate at www.hometownannapolis.com
Retrieved January 21, 2010

References

* Richardson. Hester Dorey, Side-Lights on Maryland History: With Sketches of Early Maryland Families, Genealogical Publishing Com, 1995, , . * Nelker, Gladys P., The Clan Steuart, Genealogical Publishing, 1970. * Steuart, Richard Sprigg, Dr. George Steuart of Annapolis and Doden, Anne Arundel County and his descendants, S.N. 1955 * Museum Quarterly of the Baltimore Museum of Art, April–June 1936.

Notes

External links

Official Dodon website and history of the estate
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081231030833/http://www.dodonfarm.com/ , date=31 December 2008 Retrieved February 20, 2010
Article on Annapolis Subscription Plate at www.hometownannapolis.com
Retrieved February 20, 2010
History of Maryland Jockey Club
Retrieved February 20, 2010 Horse racing awards Silver objects Pimlico Race Course Collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art American horse racing trophies Horse races in Maryland Steuart family 1743 establishments in Maryland

History

Modern era

See also

References

Notes

External links