Transylvania Trot
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| Location | Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. (inaugural) |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1889 |
| Race type | Harness race for standardbred trotters |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1 mile (1,609 metres or 8 furlongs) |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Track | The Red Mile (inaugural) |
| Qualification | 2:20 class (inaugural) |
The Transylvania Trot was a prominent harness racing stakes event for standardbred trotters, first contested in 1889 at The Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky.
The Transylvania was established in 1889.[1] It was operated under the auspices of the Kentucky Trotting Horse Breeders' Association and hosted at The Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky.[2]
The first Transylvania winner was Jack, a grey gelding by Pilot Medium, driven by Budd Doble, a leading harness driver of the era.[3] The inaugural race was won with the fastest heat timed at 2:15.[4] Doble recorded back-to-back wins of the Transylvania Trot after driving McDoel to victory in 1890.[3]
Transylvania candidates originally qualified based on their established time marks.[5] Introduced as a 2:20 trot in 1889, the Transylvania dropped to 2:10 by 1902 and held that level through 1913. It then moved to 2:08 from 1913 to 1917, to 2:05 or faster until 1929, and was run as a free-for-all trot in the 1940s.[6] The race became the premier aged stake in the United States.[7]
From its inception to the mid-1900s, an average of nearly a second a year had been clipped off the stakes record.[1]
During its early history, the Transylvania stake for trotters was the main attraction of the Kentucky Trotting Horse Breeders' Association’s annual Grand Circuit meeting, held from October 4 to 15.[8] A few years after the Transylvania was established in 1889, the Kentucky Futurity, one of harness racing’s most coveted stakes events, was inaugurated in 1893.[9] The Transylvania became the traditional prep race before the Kentucky Futurity.[2] Horses targeting the Futurity title often raced in the Transylvania. The few horses which have won both the Transylvania and the Kentucky Futurity, include Victory Song, Boralma, Rose Scott, and Rosalind.[10]
The Transylvania became the oldest harness race. 1989 marked the 100th anniversary of the stake event.
Locations
- 1889–present: The Red Mile, Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.