The Royal Palm Handicap was a Thoroughbred race for horses age three and older raced between 1946 and 2001 at

Hialeah Park Race Track The Hialeah Park Race Track (also known as the Hialeah Race Track or Hialeah Park) is a historic racetrack in Hialeah, Florida. Its site covers 40 square blocks of central-east side Hialeah from Palm Avenue east to East 4th Avenue, and from East ...

Hialeah, Florida Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in Miami-Da ...

. It was raced on dirt from inception in 1946 to 1976 after which it was run on the grass course with the exceptions of 1986 and 1997 when, for safety concerns due to the effects of inclement weather, the race was shifted to the main dirt track.

Historical notes

The inaugural running of the Royal Palm took place on January 23, 1946 and was won by the four-year-old gelding Concordian. Owned by Barney Murphy, trained by Robert Odom and ridden by Joe Renick, they would soon follow up with another win in Hialeah's

McLennan Handicap The McLennan Handicap was an American thoroughbred horse race run annually each February from 1934–1961 at Hialeah Park Race Track in Hialeah, Florida. First run in 1934 as the Joseph McLennan Memorial Handicap, the race was named In honor ...

Three Rings The Rings of Power are magical artefacts in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, most prominently in his high fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. The One Ring first appeared as a plot device, a magic ring in Tolkien's children's fantasy novel ...

won this race in three consecutive years from 1949 through 1951. Retired with earnings of $297,077, Three Rings had been purchased for $7,500 by Evelyn L. Hopkins of Cleveland, Ohio from his breeder/owner John Phipps at a June 17, 1948 sale at

Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park, Queens, South Ozone Park and Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack within ...

. There was no race in 1977 and on its return on January 21, 1978 the Royal Palm became a race on turf. The 1988 Royal Palm Handicap was run on December 5, 1987. In the March 26, 1995 edition, D J's Rainbow and Gone For Real raced to a

dead heat A dead heat is a rare situation in various racing sports in which the performances of competitors are judged to be so close that no difference between them can be resolved. The result is declared a tie and the competitors are awarded a joint ra ...

win. The Royal Palm Handicap had its final running on opening day March 17, 2001 when Hialeah Park was celebrating its 75th anniversary.

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

jockey

Jerry Bailey Jerry D. Bailey (born August 29, 1957) is a retired American Hall of Fame jockey and current NBC Sports thoroughbred racing analyst. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest jockeys of all time. Early years Bailey was born in Dallas, Texas bu ...

rode Del Mar Show to victory for Hall of Fame trainer

Bill Mott William I. "Bill" Mott (born July 29, 1953, in Mobridge, South Dakota) is an American horse trainer, most notable for his work with Cigar. Mott earned the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer in 1995, 1996, 2011, 2013. He was inducted into the ...

Records

Speed record: * 1:39.60 @ 1-1/16 miles: Social Retiree (1994) * 1:48.20 @ 1-1/8 miles: Hitting Away (1962) Most wins: * 3 -

(1949, 1950, 1951) 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 ...

: * 4 -

(1978, 1983, 1984, 2001) Most wins by a trainer: * 3 - William J. Knapp (1949, 1950, 1951) Most wins by an owner: * 3 - Evelyn L. Hopkins (1949, 1950, 1951) * 3 -

Ogden Phipps Ogden Phipps (November 26, 1908 – April 21, 2002) was an American stockbroker, court tennis champion and Hall of Fame member, thoroughbred horse racing executive and owner/breeder, and an art collector and philanthropist. In 2001, he was induct ...

(1962, 1963, 1964)

Winners

References

{{reflist Discontinued horse races in the United States Open mile category horse races Previously graded stakes races in the United States Turf races in the United States Horse races in Florida Hialeah Park Recurring sporting events established in 1946 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2002