The Riggs Handicap is a discontinued 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 ...

at the

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 Baltimore, Maryland which was first run in 1926 as a race for horses age three and older and named in honor of the late William P. Riggs, Secretary of the

Maryland Jockey Club The Maryland Jockey Club is a sporting organization dedicated to horse racing, founded in Annapolis in 1743. It is chartered as the oldest sporting organization and is currently the corporate name of the company that operates Laurel Park Racecours ...

. The Riggs Handicap was run on dirt until 1949 when it was placed on hiatus. It was revived in 1956 as a race 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'', ...

. The race had its final running in 2000. Following the introduction of the Graded stakes system in the United States, the Riggs would be a Grade III event from 1973 through 1992. Among the Riggs winners are Buck's Boy (1998);

Little Bold John Little Bold John (1982–2003) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Background He was bred in Maryland by Hal C.B. Clagett and raced under the Hidden Hill Farm's banner as his owner. He finished racing with a record of 38-16-14 in 105 sta ...

(1987, 1988), who won it twice on the turf; and Ecole Etage (1975). On dirt, the race attracted top runners such as

Pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

(1949), Stymie (1945), Polynesian (1946), Double Jay, (1947),

Seabiscuit Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a two-hors ...

(1937) in track record time,

Crusader Crusader or Crusaders may refer to: Military * Crusader, a participant in one of the Crusades * Convair NB-36H Crusader, an experimental nuclear-powered bomber * Crusader tank, a British cruiser tank of World War II * Crusaders (guerrilla), a C ...

(1926) and Bostonian (1927) won it on dirt. November 9, 1946 page 19 article titled Polynesian Wins Riggs Handicap
Retrieved August 8, 2018

References

{{reflist Discontinued horse races in the United States Horse races in Maryland Pimlico Race Course Recurring sporting events established in 1926 1926 establishments in Maryland 2000 disestablishments in Maryland