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Delaware Handicap
| Class | Grade 3 |
|---|---|
| Location | Delaware Park Racetrack Wilmington, Delaware, United States |
| Inaugurated | 1937 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred – Flat racing |
| Website | www |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1+1⁄8 Miles (9 Furlongs) |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Track | left-handed |
| Qualification | Fillies, Three-years-old and up |
| Weight | Handicap |
| Purse | US$400,000[1][2] |
The Delaware Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Delaware Park Racetrack in Wilmington, Delaware. The Grade III race is open to fillies and mares, age three and up, willing to race one mile and one eighth on the dirt.
The race was inaugurated as the New Castle Handicap as part of the racing schedule with the 1937 opening of Delaware Park Racetrack. In 1939, Shangay Lily won the race as a seven year old, and to date remains the oldest winner of the race. In 1953, the $100,000 purse offered by the New Castle Handicap made it the richest race in the world for fillies and mares at the time.[3] In 1955 the race was renamed the Delaware Handicap.
The race was held at Saratoga from 1982 until 1985.
In 2017, champion filly Songbird won as the shortest-priced favorite in the race's history at 1-9 odds.[4]
In 2023, Delaware Park management announced that the race would be shortened to 1+3⁄16 miles, citing difficulties in attracting top fillies and mares to run the 1+1⁄4-mile distance.[5] Two years later, following the race's downgrading from Grade II to Grade III, management announced that the race would be further shortened to 1+1⁄8 miles and moved to September. The race's fall positioning allows it to serve as a potential prep race for the year-end Breeders' Cup.[1]
- ^ a b Hegarty, Matt (28 January 2025). "Delaware Handicap moved to September, shortened to 1 1/8 miles". Daily Racing Form. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ^ "Delaware Handicap (Gr. 2)". Equibase. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
- ^ "First To Enter Racing Classic". The Morning Herald, Hagerstown, Maryland. 1953-03-25. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
- ^ "Songbird Holds Fast in Delaware Handicap". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
- ^ "Delaware Handicap Shortened To 1 3/16 Miles; Track Plans 85 Live Racing Dates In 2023". paulickreport.com. 17 January 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
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