Golden West Trot

Golden West Trot
Discontinued race
LocationArcadia & Inglewood, California
Inaugurated1946
Race typeHarness race for standardbred trotters
Race information
Distance1 3/16 miles
(1,911 metres or 9.5 furlongs)
SurfaceDirt, 1/2-mile oval (Santa Anita Park) & 1-mile oval (Hollywood Park)
TrackSanta Anita Park & Hollywood Park Racetrack
Qualification3 years & older
Purse$50,000 (1954)

The Golden West Trot is a defunct three-race series in harness racing for Standardbred trotters aged three and older. It was first run in 1946 with a purse of $50,000 which at the time was the richest offered in the sport. The race final was hosted on an alternating basis, until the final running in 1954,[1] by Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, and Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. During the same period, these tracks also offered the corresponding Golden West Pace.[2]

Historical race events

The only multiple winner of the race was 1951 American Harness Horse of the Year and a future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Pronto Don who won three straight editions of the Golden West Trot between 1951 and 1953.[3]

Records

Most wins by a driver
Most wins by a trainer
  • 2 – Benny Schue (1952, 1953)
Stakes record
  • 2:30 3/5 – Pronto Don (1951) at 1+1⁄4 miles
  • 2:22 4/5 – Scotch Victor (1954) at 1 3/16 miles

Winners of the Golden West Trot

Year
 Winner
 Age
 Driver
 Trainer
 Owner
 Distance
Time
Purse
 Track
1954 Scotch Victor 5 Joe O'Brien Joe O'Brien S. A. Camp Farms 1 3/16 m. 2:22 4/5 $32,500 Hol
1953 Pronto Don 8 Benny Schue Benny Schue Hayes Fair Acres Stable (Eugene Hayes) 1 3/16 m. 2:25 3/5 $30,550 Hol
1952 Pronto Don 7 Benny Schue Benny Schue Hayes Fair Acres Stable (Eugene Hayes) 1 1/4 m. 2:34 4/5 $30,650 Sa
1951 Pronto Don 6 Benny Schue Fay Fitzpatrick Hayes Fair Acres Stable (Eugene Hayes) 1 1/4 m. 2:30 3/5 $32,000 Hol
1950 Proximity 8 Clint Hodgins Clint Hodgins Ralph & Gordon Verhurst 1 1/4 m. 2:31 2/5 $50,000 Sa
1949 Chris Spencer 7 Billy Haughton Dunbar Bostwick Dunbar Bostwick 1 1/4 m. 2:33 4/5 $50,000 Hol
1948 Rodney 4 Bion Shively Bion Shively R. Horace Johnston 1 1/4 m. 2:31 3/5 $50,000 Sa
1947 Algiers 5 Harry C. Fitzpatrick Harry C. Fitzpatrick Baker Acres Stable (E. J. Baker) 1 1/4 m. 2:32 3/5 $50,000 Hol
1946 Kaola 6 Carl Hatchell Carl Hatchell S. and W. Stable 1 1/4 m. 2:32 0/0 $50,000 Sa

References

  1. ^ Sports Illustrated November 15, 1954 article titled "A Roundup of the Weeks News" Retrieved September 3, 2016
  2. ^ Standardbred Canada SC Rewind May 21, 2016 article titled "Meet of the Century" Retrieved August 28, 2016
  3. ^ Long Beach, California Independent Press-Telegram - November 22, 1953 Retrieved September 3, 2016