| Ungraded race | |
|---|---|
| Massachusetts Handicap | |
| Location | Suffolk Downs Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Inaugurated | 1935 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred - Flat racing |
| Website | www.suffolkdowns.com |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1⅛ miles (9 furlongs) |
| Track | Dirt, left-handed |
| Qualification | Three-year-olds and up |
| Weight | Handicap |
| Purse | $500,000 |
The Massachusetts Handicap, frequently referred to as the "MassCap", is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and up held annually at Suffolk Downs in Boston, Massachusetts. It is currently an Ungraded stakes race run over a distance of 9 furlongs on dirt. The race received Grade III status by the American Graded Stakes Committee for 2009,[1] but the race wasn't run. The MassCap was stripped of its graded status in 2011 as a result of not being run for two consecutive years.[2]
Suffolk Downs continues to fight for its economic life since closing for a three-year period beginning in 1989. The MassCap has been a frequent casualty of those circumstances.[3] It was first held on October 16, 1935.
In an attempt to bring the MassCap back to its former glory, new ownership offered a purse of $500,000 in 2007. Suffolk Downs also provided a bonus of $200,000 if the winner won multiple Grade I or Group 1 stakes races at a mile or longer. An additional $100,000 was to be awarded if the winner had won one Grade I or Group 1 race and at least one other graded stakes race at a mile or longer in 2007.[4]
Part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series, the winner of the 2008 Massachusetts Handicap automatically qualified for the Breeders' Cup Classic.[5]
Since inception the Massachusetts Handicap has been run at different distances:
Time record:
In the 1955 Massachusetts Handicap, jockey Sam Boulmetis, Sr. rode Helioscope to a track record time of 2:01 for 1¼ miles on dirt. As at 2008 that track record still stands.
Largest margin of victory:
Most wins:
Most wins by a jockey:
Most wins by a trainer:
| Year |
Winner |
Age |
Jockey |
Trainer |
Owner |
Time |
Grade |
| 2010 | No Race | ||||||
| 2009 | No Race | ||||||
| 2008 | Commentator | 7 | John Velazquez | Nick Zito | Tracy Farmer | 1:48.97 | NG |
| 2007 | Brass Hat | 6 | Willie Martinez | William B. Bradley | Fred F. Bradley | 1:49.72 | NG |
| 2006 | No Race | ||||||
| 2005 | No Race | ||||||
| 2004 | Offlee Wild | 4 | Edgar Prado | Richard E. Dutrow, Jr. | AZ Azalea Stables LLC | 1:49.14 | II |
| 2003 | No Race | ||||||
| 2002 | Macho Uno | 4 | Gary L. Stevens | Joe Orseno | Stronach Stables | 1:50.52 | II |
| 2001 | Include | 4 | Jerry D. Bailey | Bud Delp | Robert E. Meyerhoff | 1:48.60 | II |
| 2000 | Running Stag | 6 | John Velazquez | Philip Mitchell | Richard J. Cohen | 1:49.45 | II |
| 1999 | Behrens | 5 | Jorge Chavez | H. James Bond | Rudlein Stable | 1:49.00 | II |
| 1998 | Skip Away | 5 | Jerry D. Bailey | Sonny Hine | Carolyn Hine | 1:47.27 | III |
| 1997 | Skip Away | 4 | Shane Sellers | Sonny Hine | Carolyn Hine | 1:47.80 | III |
| 1996 | Cigar | 6 | Jerry D. Bailey | William I. Mott | Allen E. Paulson | 1:49.60 | NG |
| 1995 | Cigar | 5 | Jerry D. Bailey | William I. Mott | Allen E. Paulson | 1:48.60 | NG |
| 1994 | No Race | ||||||
| 1993 | No Race | ||||||
| 1992 | No Race | ||||||
| 1991 | No Race | ||||||
| 1990 | No Race | ||||||
| 1989 | Private Terms | 4 | Kent Desormeaux | Charles H. Hadry | Locust Hill Farm | 1:49.40 | II |
| 1988 | Lost Code | 4 | Craig Perret | L. William Donovan | Wendover Stable | 1:50.20 | II |
| 1987 | Waquoit | 4 | Chris McCarron | Guido Federico | Joseph Federico | 1:49.00 | II |
| 1986 | Skip Trial | 4 | Jean-Luc Samyn | Sonny Hine | Zelda Cohen | 1:49.80 | II |
| 1985 | Bounding Basque | 5 | Antonio Graell | Woody Sedlacek | Jacques D. Wimpfheimer | 1:47.60 | II |
| 1984 | Dixieland Band | 4 | Declan Murphy | Charles Peoples | Mary Sharp | 1:52.00 | II |
| 1983 | Let Burn | 4 | Jack Penney | William W. Perry | Scorpio Stable | 1:48.80 | II |
| 1982 | Silver Supreme | 4 | Eric Beitia | Richard DeStasio | Michael Berry | 1:48.80 | III |
| 1981 | Soldier Boy | 5 | Roger Danjean | Dominique Imprescia | Sandy Cooperstein | 1:49.40 | III |
| 1980 | Ring of Light | 5 | Frank Lovato, Jr. | Pancho Martin | Viola Sommer | 1:50.40 | III |
| 1979 | Island Sultan | 4 | John Ruane | David Hofmans | Buckland Farm | 1:48.60 | II |
| 1978 | Big John Taylor | 4 | Jacinto Vasquez | Doug Peterson | Karen L. Taylor | 1:48.40 | II |
| 1977 | Blue Times | 6 | Angel Cordero, Jr. | Laz Barrera | Aaron U. Jones | 1:49.40 | II |
| 1977 | Swinging Hal | 4 | Steve Pagano | J. W. Woods | John Martin | 1:49.20 | II |
| 1976 | Dancing Champ | 4 | Chris McCarron | Bud Delp | Windfields Farm | 1:49.20 | II |
| 1975 | Stonewalk | 4 | Ron Turcotte | Daniel J. Lopez | Timberland Stable | 1:48.60 | II |
| 1974 | Billy Come Lately | 4 | Don MacBeth | D. Michael Smithwick | Richard W. Palmer | 1:48.60 | II |
| 1973 | Riva Ridge | 4 | Ron Turcotte | Lucien Laurin | Meadow Stable | 1:48.20 | II |
| 1972 | Droll Role | 4 | Eddie Maple | Thomas J. Kelly | John M. Schiff | 1:49.20 | |
| 1971 | Chompion | 6 | Jorge Velasquez | Ivor G. Balding | C. V. Whitney | 2:34.40 | |
| 1970 | Semillant | 5 | Jean Cruguet | Angel Penna, Sr. | Sarah Hall | 2:37.20 | |
| 1969 | Beau Marker | 4 | Leroy Moyers | Lucien Laurin | Reginald N. Webster | 2:04.60 | |
| 1968 | Out Of The Way | 3 | John L. Rotz | Max Hirsch | King Ranch | 2:02.80 | |
| 1967 | Good Knight | 5 | Karl Korte | Arnold Scruton, Jr. | Arnold Scruton | 2:02.40 | |
| 1966 | Fast Count | 3 | Mike Venezia | Ivor G. Balding | C. V. Whitney | 2:01.20 | |
| 1965 | Smart | 6 | Eldon Nelson | Henry S. Clark | Christiana Stable | 2:01.60 | |
| 1964 | Smart | 5 | Eldon Nelson | Henry S. Clark | Christiana Stable | 2:03.20 | |
| 1963 | Crimson Satan | 4 | Herberto Hinojosa | Gordon R. Potter | Crimson King Farm | 2:01.20 | |
| 1962 | Air Pilot | 8 | Leroy Moyers | Clyde Troutt | Ada L. Rice | 2:01.40 | |
| 1961 | Polylad | 5 | Eddie Arcaro | Thomas M. Miles | Mrs. Q. A. S. McKean | 2:01.80 | |
| 1960 | Talent Show | 5 | Ray Broussard | Clyde Troutt | Ada L. Rice | 2:03.60 | |
| 1959 | Air Pilot | 5 | Jack Leonard | Clyde Troutt | Ada L. Rice | 2:02.40 | |
| 1958 | Promised Land | 4 | Pete D. Anderson | Hirsch Jacobs | Ethel D. Jacobs | 2:01.80 | |
| 1957 | Greek Spy | 4 | Eric Guerin | Sherrill W. Ward | Charles U. Bay | 2:03.20 | |
| 1956 | Midafternoon | 4 | William Boland | Thomas M. Waller | Mrs. E. E. Robbins | 2:04.00 | |
| 1955 | Helioscope | 4 | Sam Boulmetis, Sr. | Frank Caltrone | William G. Helis, Jr. | 2:01.00 | |
| 1954 | Wise Margin | 4 | Keith Stuart | S. N. Edmundson | Sam Tufano | 2:01.60 | |
| 1953 | Royal Vale | 5 | Jack Westrope | James E. Ryan | Esther D. du Pont | 2:02.20 | |
| 1952 | To Market | 4 | William Boland | Max Hirsch | King Ranch | 2:01.40 | |
| 1951 | One Hitter | 5 | Ted Atkinson | John M. Gaver, Sr. | Greentree Stable | 2:02.20 | |
| 1950 | Cochise | 4 | Eddie Arcaro | Virgil W. Raines | Brandywine Stable | 2:01.80 | |
| 1949 | First Nighter | 4 | Joseph Renick | William J. Hirsch | Sam A. Mason II | 2:04.60 | |
| 1948 | Beauchef | 5 | Ruperto Donoso | Robert T. Odom | Andes Stable | 2:02.60 | |
| 1947 | Stymie | 6 | Conn McCreary | Hirsch Jacobs | Ethel D. Jacobs | 1:50.00 | |
| 1946 | Pavot | 4 | Arnold Kirkland | Oscar White | Walter M. Jeffords | 1:49.80 | |
| 1945 | First Fiddle | 6 | Johnny Longden | Eddie Mulrenan | Mrs. E. Mulrenan | 1:49.40 | |
| 1944 | First Fiddle | 5 | Johnny Longden | Eddie Mulrenan | Mrs. E. Mulrenan | 1:49.00 | |
| 1943 | Market Wise | 5 | Vincenzo Nodarse | George W. Carroll | Louis Tufano | 1:52.00 | |
| 1942 | Whirlaway | 4 | George Woolf | Ben A. Jones | Calumet Farm | 1:48.20 | |
| 1941 | War Relic | 3 | Ted Atkinson | Walter A. Carter | Glen Riddle Farm | 1:48.60 | |
| 1940 | Eight Thirty | 4 | Harry Richards | Bert Mulholland | George D. Widener, Jr. | 1:49.00 | |
| 1939 | Fighting Fox | 4 | James Stout | James Fitzsimmons | Belair Stud | 1:52.00 | |
| 1938 | Menow | 3 | Nick Wall | Duval A. Headley | Hal Price Headley | 1:52.60 | |
| 1937 | Seabiscuit | 4 | Red Pollard | Tom Smith | Charles S. Howard | 1:49.00 | |
| 1936 | Time Supply | 5 | Raymond Workman | Carl A. Roles | Mrs. Frank A. Carreaud | 1:49.80 | |
| 1935 | Top Row | 4 | George Woolf | Albert A. Baroni | Albert A. Baroni | 1:49.40 |
* Day Court finished first in 1959 but was disqualified and placed second.
* Raced in two divisions in 1977.