Harrison E. Johnson Memorial Handicap
| Ungraded Stakes race | |
| Location | Laurel Park Racecourse, Laurel, Maryland,  United States  |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1986 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred - Flat racing |
| Website | www |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1+1⁄8 miles (9 furlongs) |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Track | left-handed |
| Qualification | Three-year-olds & up |
| Weight | Assigned |
| Purse | $100,000 |
The Harrison E. Johnson Memorial Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in March at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland. It is open to three-year-olds and up and is run at 1+1⁄8 miles (nine furlongs) on the dirt. An ungraded stakes race, it offers a purse of $100,000.
The race was named in honor of African-American trainer Harrison E. Johnson, a Maryland-based trainer who died in 1985 at age 45 in a plane crash along with George F. Griffith while flying from Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York to Virginia. Johnson was piloting the plane. The native of Adelphi, Maryland, had been a trainer since the spring of 1969. His best race horse was Gutsy O'Shay, winner of the 1973 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga. That gelding was named Maryland-bred two-year-old champion in 1973.[1]
Records
Speed record:
- 1+1⁄8 miles - 1:48.60 - Ibex (1993)
- 1+3⁄16 miles - 1:55.80 - Big Rut (1998) & Super Memory (1995)
Most wins by an horse:
- 2 - Due North (1990 & 1991)
Most wins by a jockey:
- 4 - Edgar Prado (1990, 1993, 1996 & 1997)
Most wins by a trainer:
- 2 - H. Graham Motion (2008 & 2009)
- 2 - Katherine M. Voss (1990 & 1991)
Winners
| Year |
Winner |
Age |
Jockey |
Trainer |
Owner |
Distance | Time | Purse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Page McKenney | - 5 | Horacio Karamanos | Mary E. Eppler | Staple/Jalin Stable | 1+1⁄16 | 1:50.88 | $100,000 |
| 2014 | Ground Transport | 4 | Trevor McCarthy | Michael Stidham | West Point Thoroughbreds | 1+1⁄16 | 1:52.17 | $100,000 |
| 2013 | Norman Asbjornson | 5 | Jeremy Rose | Christopher Grove | Tom McClay & Harry Nye | 1+1⁄8 | 1:51.77 | $125,000 |
| 2012 | Eighttofasttocatch | 6 | Sheldon Russell | Timothy Keefe | Sylvia Heft | 1+1⁄8 | 1:53.43 | $100,000 |
| 2011 | Eighttofasttocatch | 5 | Sheldon Russell | Timothy Keefe | Sylvia E. Heft | 1+1⁄8 | 1:50.30 | $75,000 |
| 2010 | Indian Dance | 4 | Luis Garcia | Lawrence Murray | Sondra Bender | 1+1⁄8 | 1:51.04 | $70,000 |
| 2009 | Bullsbay | 5 | Jeremy Rose | H. Graham Motion | Mitchell Ranch | 1+1⁄8 | 1:50.33 | $75,000 |
| 2008 | Arcata | 4 | Jeremy Rose | H. Graham Motion | Mark Westenhoefer | 1+1⁄8 | 1:53.00 | $60,000 |
| 2007 | Sweetnorthernsaint | 4 | Mario Pino | Michael Trombetta | Joe Balsamo & TedTheos | 1+1⁄8 | 1:51.20 | $75,000 |
| 2006 | Reckless Ways | 5 | Anna Napravnik | Edmund Gaudet | Lacey Gaudet | 1+1⁄8 | 1:50.60 | $75,000 |
| 2005 | Lusty Latin | 6 | Erick D. Rodriguez | Mark Shuman | Al Bingel | 1+1⁄8 | 1:52.00 | $50,000 |
| 2004 | Jorgie Stover | 6 | Kaymarie Kreidel | John V. Alecci | Michael Gill | 1+1⁄8 | 1:49.40 | $75,000 |
| 2003 | P Day | 8 | Ryan Fogelsonger | Charles J. Hadry | Cheryl Resch | 1+1⁄8 | 1:49.40 | $75,000 |
| 2002 | First Amendment | 5 | Ramon Dominguez | Mark Shuman | Bonita Farm | 1+1⁄8 | 1:49.20 | $50,000 |
| 2001 | Duckhorn | 4 | Travis Dunkelberger | Patrick B. Byrne | Windmill Manor Farms | 1+1⁄4 | 2:00.60 | $85,000 |
| 2000 | S W Clarence | 6 | Rick Wilson | Thomas Lingenfelter | Springwater Farms | 1+3⁄16 | 1:56.20 | $75,000 |
| 1999 | Fred Bear Claw | 5 | Larry Reynolds | Archie Smith, Jr. | J R Stable | 1+3⁄16 | 1:56.60 | $55,000 |
| 1998 | Big Rut | 5 | Larry Reynolds | Hamilton Smith | James W. Peters, Jr. | 1+3⁄16 | 1:55.80 | $55,000 |
| 1997 | Western Echo | 5 | Edgar Prado | Grover Delp | Xanthus Farm | 1+3⁄16 | 1:57.20 | $75,000 |
| 1996 | Michael's Star | 4 | Edgar Prado | Guadalipe Preciado | Hidden Lane Farm | 1+3⁄16 | 1:56.80 | $75,000 |
| 1995 | Super Memory | 5 | Omar Klinger | King T. Leatherbury | King T. Leatherbury | 1+3⁄16 | 1:55.80 | $75,000 |
| 1994 | Local Problem | 5 | Allen Stacy | Mary Eppler | Alfred G. Vanderbilt | 1+1⁄8 | 1:49.60 | $75,000 |
| 1993 | Ibex | 6 | Edgar Prado | Gary Capuano | Dylan Williams | 1+1⁄8 | 1:48.60 | $75,000 |
| 1992 | Gala Spinaway | 4 | Greg McCarron | Bernard Bond | Gertrude & Skip Leviton | 1+1⁄8 | 1:51.00 | $75,000 |
| 1991 | Due North | 9 | Rick Wilson | Katherine M. Voss | Susan McGill | 1+1⁄8 | 1:51.00 | $75,000 |
| 1990 | Due North | 8 | Edgar Prado | Katherine M. Voss | Susan McGill | 1+1⁄8 | 1:51.60 | $75,000 |
| 1989 | Baldski's Choice | 5 | Greg McCarron | Bernard Bond | Arnold & Sylvia Heft | 1+1⁄8 | 1:51.00 | $57,500 |
| 1988 | Entertain | 5 | Vincent Bracciale | Kumpe & Pullen | 1+1⁄8 | 1:51.60 | $60,000 | |
| 1987 | Midnight Call | 4 | Mario Pino | William M. Backer | 1-mile | 1:37.20 | $60,000 | |
| 1986 | Sparrowvon | 4 | Albert Delgado | Hank Allen | Jacque-Scott Stable | 1-mile | 1:37.00 | $60,000 |
See also
References
- ^ 2007 Maryland Jockey Club Media Guide, page 216 on March 3, 2007.