The Pimlico Spring Handicap was a race for

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

horses run annually from 1917 through 1932 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 ...

racetrack in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. The mile and one-sixteenth race on dirt was open to horses of either sex age three and older.

Historic notes

For most of its duration, the event attracted top-level horses such as inaugural winner Pennant, the 1913

Belmont Futurity The Futurity Stakes, commonly referred to as the Belmont Futurity, is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid-September or October at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, United States. Open to two-year-old horses, it is raced on turf ...

winner and sire of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Equipoise. Others include 1918 winner

Cudgel A club (also known as a cudgel, baton, bludgeon, truncheon, cosh, nightstick, or impact weapon) is a short staff or stick, usually made of wood, wielded as a weapon or tool since prehistory. There are several examples of blunt-force trauma caus ...

, who beat that year's

American Champion Older Male Horse The title of American Champion Older Dirt Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a stallion or gelding, four years old and up, for performances on dirt and main track racing surfaces. In 1971, it became part of ...

Omar Khayyam Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīshābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131) (Persian language, Persian: غیاث الدین ابوالفتح عمر بن ابراهیم خیام نیشابورﻯ), commonly known as Omar ...

. In 1921 Sandy Beal won the Pimlico Spring Handicap beating 1920

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

winner Paul Jones, and 1922 winner Exterminator had already won a

and by the time he retired from racing had been named a five-time

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...

as well as a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee.Exterminator: The Legend of 'Old Bones' August 1st, 2016 by J. Keeler Johnson
Retrieved August 16, 2018 The Pimlico Spring Handicap was a victim of the

Great Depression in the United States In the United States, the Great Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October 1929 and then spread worldwide. The nadir came in 1931–1933, and recovery came in 1940. The stock market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high u ...

which brought much consolidation of races at every track and a dramatic reduction in purse money.

Records

Speed record: (at 1 1/16 miles) * 1:45 0/0 - Edisto (1926) 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 ...

: * 2 - Fred Stevens (1924, 1930) Most wins by a trainer: * 2 - H. Guy Bedwell (1918, 1920) Most wins by an owner: * 2 -

Harry Payne Whitney Harry Payne Whitney (April 29, 1872 – October 26, 1930) was an American businessman, thoroughbred horse breeding, horse breeder, and member of the prominent Whitney family. Early years Whitney was born in New York City on April 29, 1872, as ...

(1917, 1923) * 2 -

J. K. L. Ross Commander John Kenneth Leveson "Jack" Ross, Order of the British Empire, CBE (31 March 1876 – 25 July 1951) was a Canadian businessman, sportsman, thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse owner/breeder, and philanthropist. He is best remembered ...

(1918, 1920)

Winners

References

{{reflist Discontinued horse races in the United States Horse races in Maryland Pimlico Race Course Horse races established in 1917 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1932