William Penn Stakes

The William Penn Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run between 1942 and 1956 at Garden State Park Racetrack in Camden, New Jersey. A race for two-year-old colts and geldings on dirt, it was contested at a distance of six furlongs from inception thru 1947 after which it was shortened to five furlongs.

William Penn Stakes
Discontinued stakes race
LocationGarden State Park Racetrack,
Camden, New Jersey
Inaugurated1942
Race typeThoroughbred - Flat racing
Race information
Distance5 furlongs
SurfaceDirt
Trackleft-handed
QualificationTwo-year-old colts & geldings

Garden State Park opened in 1942. The city of Camden is situated across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a city with more than twenty times the population of Camden which provided an extremely important source from which to draw patrons for the racetrack. The William Penn Stakes honors the founder of the Province of Pennsylvania.

Successful from almost the beginning as a result of participation by some big-name stables, going into 1948 the William Penn Stakes had become one of the track's most popular races.[1]

When Blue Peter got his third Camden track record in winning the 1948 race it would add further lustre to the event and for the 1949 edition the 35,110 patrons who showed up would be the largest crowd of the season. [2] [3] [4] Once again speed would be front at center when, in his May 13, 1950 career debut, Lord Putnam broke Garden State Park's track record for five furlongs. In winning the May 27 William Penn Stakes, Lord Putnam set a new stakes record and then in his next outing remarkably broke a different track's record time, this one at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey.[5]

By 1953 more and more of the major New York owned and based stables were sending their two-year-olds to compete in the William Penn Stakes. Among them were the likes of Maine Chance Farm, owned by cosmetics magnate Elizabeth Arden, the Wheatley Stable of Gladys Mills Phipps and her brother, Ogden Livingston Mills, as well as the Brookmeade Stable belonging to automobile heiress Isabel Dodge Sloane.[6] Unfortunately for them, all were beaten in the 1953 edition by Duc De Fer, a local horse bred and raced by J. Warfield Rodgers. Duc De Fer would race successfully for five years and retire with earnings of $225,791 (about $2.34 million in 2021).[7] Increased purses at the New York tracks saw a significant drop off in their participation in the 1954 running. The effect would see the William Penn Stakes placed on hiatus in 1955 and while it was brought back on May 9, 1956, that would be its final running.[8]

In 1957, the track's owners dropped the William Penn Stakes to help them supplement the purse for the Garden State Stakes, also a race for two-year old colts and geldings. The purse would be the largest offered anywhere in the world.[9]

Records

Speed record:

  • 0:58.80 @ 5 furlongs: Lord Putnam (1950)
  • 1:11.40 @ 6 furlongs: Jobstown (1946)

Most wins by a jockey:

Most wins by a trainer:

  • No trainer won this race more than once.

Most wins by an owner:

  • No owner won this race more than once.

Winners
Year
 Winner
 Age
 Jockey
 Trainer
 Owner
 Dist.
(Miles)		 Time
 Win $
1956 Balaklava 2 Sam Boulmetis Thomas H. Heard Jr. George F. Strickland 5 f 0:59.00 $8,700
1955 Race not held
1954 Right Down 2 Basil James Sidney Jacobs Sidney Jacobs 5 f 0:59.40 $12,825
1953 Duc de Fer 2 Logan Batcheller Edgar S. Brumfield J. Warfield Rodgers 5 f 1:00.40 $11,100
1952 Fort Salonga 2 Sam Boulmetis E. W. King Samuel P. Steckler 5 f 0:59.00 $9,225
1951 Metal Mike 2 Nick Combest Winbert F. Mulholland Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr. 5 f 0:59.60 $13,725
1950 Lord Putnam 2 Nick Wall George Riola Sara Chait 5 f 0:58.80 $
1949 Quiz Show 2 John Gilbert Joseph H. Pierce Sr. Palatine Stable (Frank Rosen) 5 f 0:59.00 $10,125
1948 Blue Peter 2 Wayne D. Wright Andy Schuttinger Joseph M. Roebling 5 f 0:59.20 $11,225
1947 Dr. Almac 2 Charles Wahler James V. Stewart Mrs. James V. Stewart 6 f 1:12.00 $10,575
1946 Jobstown 2 Herb Lindberg Willie Booth William G. Helis Sr. 6 f 1:11.40 $10,800
1945 Air Hero 2 John Gilbert John P. (Doc) Jones Crispin Oglebay 6 f 1:14.60 $9,650
1944 Alexis 2 Ken Scawthorn John A. Healey Christiana Stable 6 f 1:11.60 $8,100
1943 Dance Team 2 Nick Wall Preston M. Burch Longchamps Farms 6 f 1:13.20 $5,830
1942 Ogma 2 J. Boyle Burton B. Williams Thomas B. Cromwell 6 f 1:12.80 $5,430

References
  1. "William Penn Stakes Will Engage Juveniles: Large Field Expected Saturday From List of 126 Nominations". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1948-05-17. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  2. "Many Costly Youngsters Named for William Penn: List for Garden State Parks Juvenile Fixture Totals 131". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1949-05-06. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  3. "Blue Peter Shatters Third Camden Record". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1948-05-24. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  4. "Quiz Show Outraces First Glance By Length in Garden State Sprint". New York Times, Section Sports, page 28. 1949-05-31. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  5. "Unbeaten Lord Putnam in Brisk Trial". New York Daily News. 1950-06-30. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  6. "More New York Invaders for William Penn Stakes". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1953-05-22. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  7. "Duc De Fer Prevails in William Penn". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1953-05-25. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  8. "New Jersey: Balaklava II's William Penn Win Impressive". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1956-05-11. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  9. "Garden State Park Opens Slate Today". New York Times, Section Sports, page 61. 1957-10-09. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
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