Overview
The Potomac Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in the latter part of September at Havre de Grace Racetrack in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Open to three-year-old horses, it was raced on dirt at a distance of a mile-and-a-sixteenth. First run at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland, it was restricted to two-year-olds and run at a distance of one mile. The 1918 running was won by Calumet Farm's two-year-old colt, Be Frank, ridden by Lavelle Ensor. https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E03E3D61539E13ABC4850DFB6678383609EDE The following year the race moved to the Havre de Grace Racetrack and was changed to an event for three-year-olds and set at a distance of a mile-and-a-sixteenth. The Potomac Handicap was won by four National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame inductees including 1919 U.S.
Triple Crown winner Sir Barton and Man o' War who won the 1920 edition. Despite being assigned highweight of 138 pounds, Man o' War set a new Havre de Grace track record for a mile-and-a-sixteenth. Venue: * Laurel : 1916-1918, 1944-1948 * Pimlico: 1943 * Havre de Grace Racetrack: 1919-1942
Records
Speed record: (3-year-olds) * 1 miles: 1:44 flat, Menow (1938) * 1 miles: 1:50 3/5, Loyal Legion (1947) Speed record: (2-year-olds) * 1 mile: 1:39 1/5, Be Frank (1918) Most wins by a jockey: * 2 - Clarence Kummer (1915, 1920) * 2 - Andy Schuttinger (1917, 1922) * 2 - Clarence Kummer (1921, 1931) * 2 - Albert Snider (1946, 1947) Most wins by a trainer: * 2 - Clyde S. Phillips (1916, 1930) * 2 - Thomas J. Healey (1925, 1936) * 2 - Bud Stotler (1934, 1935) * 2 - James Radney (1946, 1948) Most wins by an owner: * 2 - Willis Sharpe Kilmer (1928, 1933) * 2 - Alfred G. Vanderbilt II (1934, 1935) * 2 - Mrs. Ellsworth H. Augustus (1946, 1948)
References
* New York Times article on the 1921 Potomac Handicap