RACING TO HISTORY
June 28, 1977: Steve Cauthen, on his first day as a journeyman jockey, won
with his first three mounts at Belmont Park.
June 28, 1989: Arlington International Racecourse opened in Arlington
Heights, Ill. It had been rebuilt after a fire destroyed the old facility,
July 31, 1985.
June 29, 1968: Jockey Eddie Delahoussaye won his first race, at Evangeline
Downs, aboard Brown Shill.
June 29, 1968: Gamely, Princessnesian and Desert Law-all owned by William
Haggin Perry and trained by Jim Maloney-finished 1, 1A and 1B, respectively,
in the Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park.
June 29, 1969: Jockey Ray Sibille won his first career race, at Evangeline
Downs.
June 29, 1983: Jockey Angel Cordero Jr. won his 5,000th career race, aboard
Another Rodger, in the ninth race at Belmont Park. He was the fourth rider
in history, behind John Longden, Bill Shoemaker and Laffit Pincay Jr., to
hit that mark.
June 30, 1973: Three weeks after he won the Triple Crown, Secretariat scored
another victory, a nine-length win in the Arlington Invitational Stakes at
Arlington Park, where he was sent off at the shortest odds in his career,
1-20. With no place or show wagering on the four-horse race, which was run
with a three-horse field against Secretariat, the track had a minus win pool
of $17,941. More than 40,000 spectators turned out for the event.
June 30, 1978: Spectacular Bid won his first race, at Pimlico, by 3 1/4
lengths.
June 30, 1990: Retired jockey Bill Shoemaker won his first race as a
trainer, sending two-year-old filly Tempest Cloud to her maiden victory at
Hollywood Park.
June 30, 1991: One year after his first victory as a trainer, Bill Shoemaker
recorded his first Grade I win, with Alcando in the Beverly Hills Handicap
at Hollywood Park.
July 1, 1966: Jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. won with his first mount in the
United States, at Arlington Park, aboard two-year-old filly Teacher's Art,
owned and bred by Fred W. Hooper.
July 1, 1998: Hall of Fame jockey Sandy Hawley retired from race riding
after competing in the Dominion Day Handicap at Woodbine Racecourse.
July 1, 2000: Jockey Mark Guidry became the 36th jockey in history to win
4,000 races when he rode Manitowish to victory in the fifth race at
Arlington International Racecourse.
July 2, 1989: Jockey Steve Cauthen became the first rider in history to
sweep the world's four major derbies after winning the Irish Derby with Old
Vic. He had previously won the Kentucky Derby with Affirmed (1978), the
Epsom Derby with Slip Anchor (1985) and Reference Point (1987) and the
French Derby with Old Vic (1989).
July 3, 1937: The Del Mar Turf Club, with crooner Bing Crosby as president
and actor Pat O'Brien as one of the club officers, opened for racing.
July 3, 1977: Seattle Slew's nine-race winning streak came to an end in the
Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park, when he finished fourth, beaten 16 lengths
by J.O. Tobin.
July 3, 1982: D. Wayne Lukas-trained Landaluce, ridden by Laffit Pincay Jr.,
won the first of her five consecutive victories at Hollywood Park. The
daughter of Seattle Slew, owned by Barry Beal and Lloyd French, died of a
viral infection in November of that year, but was posthumously voted
champion two-year-old filly of 1982.
July 4, 1954: Two-year-old Ribot won his first race, the Premio Tramuschio.
He concluded his career in 1956, with 16 wins in as many starts.
July 4, 1972: Two-year-old Secretariat, ridden by Paul Feliciano, ran fourth
to winner Herbull in his racing debut, blocked badly throughout the race, at
Aqueduct. It was the poorest placing of Secretariat's career.
July 4, 1976: Charlie Whittingham swept the top three spots in the American
Handicap at Hollywood Park with his trainees King Pellinore, Riot in Paris
and Caucasus. On July 26, he repeated the feat in the Sunset Handicap, with
Caucasus first, King Pellinore second and Riot in Paris third.
July 4, 1978: Trainer D. Wayne Lukas won his first $100,000 stakes race-over
the turf-taking the American Handicap with Effervescing, ridden by Laffit
Pincay Jr., at Hollywood Park.
July 4, 1998: Elusive Quality ran the fastest mile in history in the Poker
Handicap at Belmont Park. The five-year-old horse was timed in 1:31 3/5 over
a firm turf course.
July 4, 2000: Hall of Fame jockey Russell Baze scored his 7,000 career
victory aboard This Is the Moment at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton,
Calif. Baze became the sixth jockey to join the 7,000-win club.
July 5, 1991: Jockey Ray Sibille won his 3,000th career race, aboard
Sporting Surf at Pleasanton.
July 6, 1975: Locust Hill Farm's undefeated filly Ruffian engaged Kentucky
Derby winner Foolish Pleasure in a match race at Belmont Park. Racing on the
lead, Ruffian sustained a severe leg injury and was pulled up by jockey
Jacinto Vasquez. The filly was euthanized the following day when efforts to
save her proved futile.
July 6, 1977: In the second of their 10 meetings, Alydar defeated Affirmed
to win the Great American Stakes at Belmont Park. This was the first of
Alydar's three victories over Affirmed.
July 7, 1934: Mary Hirsch became the first female to be licensed as a
Thoroughbred trainer, in Illinois. Hirsch subsequently was licensed in
Michigan that year and two years later, on April 9, she was licensed by The
Jockey Club to train in New York.
July 8, 2000: General Express set a world record when he went five furlongs
on the turf in :54.60 in the Decathlon Stakes at Monmouth Park in Oceanport,
N.J. General Express eclipsed the mark of :54.97 set by Klassy Briefcase in
a Monmouth allowance race on June 8, 1991.
July 10, 1982: Landaluce, a two-year-old daughter of Seattle Slew, won the
Hollywood Lassie Stakes by 21 lengths under the guidance of Laffit Pincay
Jr. She ran the six furlong race in 1:08, just 3/5 of a second off the track
record at Hollywood Park.
July 10, 2000: The National Thoroughbred Racing Association unveiled the
"NTRA Two-Year-Old Challenge," a televised racing series and promotional
program for 2-year-old Thoroughbred colts and geldings carrying a potential
bonus of $1.3 million.
July 11, 1997: Breeders' Cup Ltd. announced that supplemental entry fees
would be added to the purses of Breeders' Cup Championship Day events.
WEEKEND STAKES RACES (unrestricted stakes worth $75,000 and up)
FRIDAY, JUNE 29
Manhattan Beach Stakes, 3yo fillies, $75,000, 5½ F (T), Hollywood Park
SATURDAY, JUNE 30
Vanity Handicap, 3&up (f&m), $300,000, Grade I, 1 1/8 M, Hollywood Park
Molly Pitcher Handicap, 3&up (f&m), $300,000, Grade II, 1 1/16 M, Monmouth
Park
Mother Goose Stakes, 3yo fillies, $250,000, Grade I, 1 1/8 M, Belmont Park
Arlington Classic, 3yo, $200,000, Grade II, 1 1/8 M (T), Arlington Park
Aristides Handicap, 3&up, $100,000, Grade III, 6½ F, Churchill Downs
Tremont Stakes, 2yo, $100,000, Grade III, 5½ F, Belmont Park
J j'sdream Stakes, 2yo fillies, $100,000, 5½ F, Calder Racecourse
Dr. James Penny Memorial Handicap, 3&up (f&m), $100,000, 1 1/16 M (T),
Philadelphia Park
Harry Henson Stakes, 3yo, $75,000, 5½ F (T), Hollywood Park
Skip Away Stakes, 3&up, $75,000, 1 1/16 M, Monmouth Park
SUNDAY, JULY 1
Hollywood Gold Cup, 3&up, $750,000, Grade I, 1¼ M, Hollywood Park
Suburban Handicap, 3&up, $500,000, Grade II, 1¼ M, Belmont Park
United Nations Handicap, 3&up, $400,000, Grade I, 1 3/8 M (T), Monmouth Park
Triple Bend Breeders' Cup Handicap, 3&up, $300,000, Grade II, 7F, Hollywood
Park
Honeymoon Breeders' Cup Handicap, 3yo fillies, $250,000, Grade II, 1¼ M
(T), Hollywood Park
A Gleam Handicap, 3&up (f&m), $200,000, Grade II, 7F, Hollywood Park
Stars and Stripes Breeders' Cup Turf, 3&up, $200,000, Grade III, 1½ M (T),
Arlington Park
Dominion Day Stakes, 3&up, $150,000, Grade III, 1¼ M, Woodbine
Astoria Stakes, 2yo fillies, $100,000, 5½ F, Belmont Park
Christiana Stakes, 3yo fillies, $100,000, 1 1/8 M (T), Delaware Park
Lt. Governors' Handicap, 3&up, $75,000, Grade III, 1 1/8 M, Hastings Park
TUESDAY, JULY 3
Grand Prairie Turf Challenge, 3yo, $125,000, 1 M (T), Lone Star Park at Grand
Prairie
Saylorville Stakes, 3&up (f&m), $125,000, 6F, Prairie Meadows
WEDNESDAY, JULY 4
Firecracker Breeders' Cup Handicap, 3&up, $250,000, Grade II, 1 M (T),
Churchill Downs
Prioress Stakes, 3yo fillies, $200,000, Grade I, 6F, Belmont Park
Tom Fool Handicap, 3&up, $150,000, Grade II, 7F, Belmont Park
American Handicap, 3&up, $150,000, Grade II, 1 1/8 M (T), Hollywood Park
Iowa Sprint Handicap, 3&up, $150,000, 6F, Prairie Meadows
Walmac Lone Star Oaks, 3yo fillies, $125,000, 1 1/16 M (T), Lone Star Park at
Grand Prairie
Poker Handicap, 3&up, $100,000, Grade III, 1 M (T), Belmont Park
Jersey Shore Breeders' Cup Stakes, 3yo, $100,000, Grade III, 6F, Monmouth
Park
Regret Stakes, 3&up (f&m), $75,000, 6F, Monmouth Park
Charles Town Dash, 3&up, $75,000, 4½ F, Charles Town
THURSDAY, JULY 5
Iowa Oaks, 3yo fillies, $150,000, 1 1/16 M, Prairie Meadows
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