The Parole Hunt Club was a half-mile race track in

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 ...

, dedicated to horse racing, including pacers and trotters, on land now known as Riva Road. Until its redevelopment as a shopping center in the late 1950s, the club was the location of the first recorded formal horse race in Maryland.

History

In the 1740s, racing was established in many towns in Maryland, with numerous gentlemen of means establishing large

stud farm A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word "stud (animal), stud" comes from the Old English ''stod'' meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding". Historically, ...

s. The first jockey club was founded in

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 around 1750,Nelker, 118 and racing soon grew to become an important part of the social and political life of the colony. The first formal horse race in Maryland took place at Parole in May 1743. Charles Carroll (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 horse ran against

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 ...

, (aka "Duncannon"), a thoroughbred racehorse owned by the tobacco planter and horse breeder George Hume Steuart (1700-1784), who had imported the horse from England. At stake was a silver trophy, the

Annapolis Subscription Plate 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.

. 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 crafted by the Annapolis silversmith, John Inch. It is the oldest surviving silver object made in Maryland and the second oldest horseracing trophy in America. Dungannon won the race, establishing a tradition of thoroughbred racing that would last for 200 years. The Parole Hunt Club racetrack was sold in the late 1950s to property developers, and in 1962 it became a shopping center known as the Parole Plaza, which was torn down and redeveloped between 2004 and 2008 to become a mixed-use development called Annapolis Towne Center at Parole, now known as Annapolis Town Center.

References

* Nelker, Gladys P., ''The Clan Steuart'', Genealogical Publishing 1970.

External links

Article on the history of the Parole Hunt Club at www.hometownannapolis.com
Retrieved August 3, 2010
Article on Annapolis Subscription Plate at www.hometownannapolis.com
Retrieved August 3, 2010
Official website of the farm estate of Dodon, formerly George Hume Steuart's South River plantation
Retrieved August 3, 2010
History of Maryland Jockey Club
Retrieved August 3, 2010

Notes

{{reflist, 2 Buildings and structures in Anne Arundel County, Maryland Defunct horse racing venues in the United States Defunct sports venues in Maryland Horse racing in Maryland