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Golden West Trot

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Horse race
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, 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.

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.

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
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