Golden West Trot

Golden West Trot
Discontinued race
Location	Arcadia & Inglewood, California
Inaugurated	1946
Race type	Harness race for standardbred trotters
Race information
Distance	1 3/16 miles; (1,911 metres or 9.5 furlongs)
Surface	Dirt, 1/2-mile oval (Santa Anita Park) & 1-mile oval (Hollywood Park)
Track	Santa Anita Park & Hollywood Park Racetrack
Qualification	3 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,^[1] 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.^[2]

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.^[3]

Records

Most wins by a driver

3 – Benny Schue (1951, 1952, 1953)

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

^ Sports Illustrated November 15, 1954 article titled "A Roundup of the Weeks News" Retrieved September 3, 2016
^ Standardbred Canada SC Rewind May 21, 2016 article titled "Meet of the Century" Retrieved August 28, 2016
^ Long Beach, California Independent Press-Telegram - November 22, 1953 Retrieved September 3, 2016

[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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