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 racetrack located just outside Laurel, Maryland which opened in 1911. The track is miles in circumference. Its name was changed to "Laurel Race Course" for several decades un ...

Laurel, Maryland Laurel is a city in Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore on the banks of the Patuxent River, in northern Prince George's County. Its population was 30,060 at the 2020 census. Founded as a mill town i ...

. Run over a distance of miles on

turf Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses. In British and Australian English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', ...

, at one time it was a

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

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 developed for 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 considered ...

. 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 O ...

in 1921, only moving to Laurel in 1969 where it was briefly known as the Pimlico-Laurel Futurity). Past winners include Triple Crown 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 A citation is a reference to a source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose o ...

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 horse racing, racehorse who was the ninth winn ...

and

Affirmed Affirmed (February 21, 1975 – January 12, 2001) was a champion American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who is the eleventh winner of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States), American Triple Crown. Affirmed was well known ...

, who defeated his arch rival

Alydar Alydar (March 23, 1975 – November 15, 1990) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing, 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 of Thoro ...

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 Greentree Stable, in Red Bank, New Jersey, was a major American thoroughbred horse racing stable and breeding farm established in 1914 by Payne Whitney of the Whitney family of New York City. Payne Whitney operated a horse farm and stable at Sa ...

(1927, 1948, 1950, 1982) Most wins by a

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

: * 3 –

Edgar Prado Edgar S. Prado (born June 12, 1967) is a retired Peruvian jockey in thoroughbred horse racing. Prado's big break came in 1997 when he won 536 races, making him the fourth rider in history to win 500 races in one year. Much of that success was ga ...

(1994, 1998, 2007) * 3 –

Bill Shoemaker William Lee Shoemaker (August 19, 1931 – October 12, 2003) was an American jockey, considered one of the greatest. For 29 years he held the world record for the most professional jockey victories. Early life Referred to as "Bill", "Willie," ...

(1957, 1958, 1961) * 3 –

Douglas Dodson Douglas Allan Dodson (December 21, 1921 - February, 1982) was a National Champion jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. Early life Douglas Dodson was born in Pickardville, Alberta, Canada, the son of James Floyd and Emma Dodson. His fami ...

(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 Horse races established in 1921 1921 establishments in Maryland

Records

Winners

See also

References

External links