The Wilson Stakes/Handicap was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...

 run for twenty-nine years between 1930 and 1958. Inaugurated at the Saratoga Race Course

Saratoga Race Course

Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It opened on August 3, 1863, and is the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the United States. It is typically open for racing from late July through early September.-History:John...

 in Saratoga Springs, New York

Saratoga Springs, New York

Saratoga Springs, also known as simply Saratoga, is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 26,586 at the 2010 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area. While the word "Saratoga" is known to be a corruption of a Native American name, ...

, it was named In honor of the late Richard Thornton Wilson, Jr.

Richard Thornton Wilson, Jr.

Richard Thornton Wilson, Jr. was an American banker and businessman who was a prominent figure in Thoroughbred horse racing in the early decades of the 20th Century....

, a prominent Thoroughbred owner and president of Saratoga Race Course.

Inaugurated as the Wilson Plate at a distance of one mile (8 furlong

Furlong

A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, or 10 chains. The exact value of the furlong varies slightly among English-speaking countries....

s), the first running in 1930 was won by Battleship Gray, a son of the legendary Man o' War

Man O' War

Man O' War, man o' war or manowar may refer to:* Man-of-war, a warship* Man of war for uses with this spelling - Places :...

. In July 1954, the race was shifted to the Jamaica Racetrack

Jamaica Racetrack

Jamaica Race Course was an American thoroughbred horse racing facility operated by the Metropolitan Jockey Club in Jamaica, New York. The track opened on April 27, 1903, a day which featured the inaugural running of the Excelsior Handicap. Eugene D. Wood, one of the founders and largest...

 in Jamaica, New York as part of three weeks of racing that was called the "Saratoga-at-Jamaica" race meeting. Renamed the Wilson Handicap and raced as a six furlong sprint

Sprint (race)

Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...

, the event remained at the Jamaica track through 1958 and was then canceled due to the closure of the Jamaica facility on August 1, 1959.

Eight winners of the Wilson Stakes have been inducted in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...

.

Winners

• 1958 - Nahodah
• 1957 - Jovial Jove
• 1956 - Ambergris
• 1955 - Mr. Turf
• 1954 - First Glance
• 1953 - Tom Fool
  Tom Fool
  Tom Fool was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, a winner of the American Horse of the Year award and a Hall of Fame inductee. He sired the outstanding racehorses Buckpasser and Tim Tam....
  
  
• 1952 - Tom Fool
  Tom Fool
  Tom Fool was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, a winner of the American Horse of the Year award and a Hall of Fame inductee. He sired the outstanding racehorses Buckpasser and Tim Tam....
  
  
• 1951 - Hall Of Fame
• 1950 - Capot
  Capot
  Capot was an American Thoroughbred racehorse sired by Menow out of the mare Piquet. Owned and bred by Greentree Stable, Capot was trained by John M...
  
  
• 1949 - Manyunk
• 1948 - Gallorette
  Gallorette
  Gallorette was a Maryland-bred chestnut thoroughbred filly who became a Hall of Fame race horse. Sired by Challenger II, out of Gallette, Gallorette's damsire was Sir Gallahad III. Even so, her dam, Gallette, had once exchanged hands for $250 and was used as a hack. -Breeding:Trainer Preston M...
  
  
• 1947 - Gallorette
  Gallorette
  Gallorette was a Maryland-bred chestnut thoroughbred filly who became a Hall of Fame race horse. Sired by Challenger II, out of Gallette, Gallorette's damsire was Sir Gallahad III. Even so, her dam, Gallette, had once exchanged hands for $250 and was used as a hack. -Breeding:Trainer Preston M...
  
  
• 1946 - Pavot
  Pavot
  Pavot was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. Bred and raced by Walter M. Jeffords, Sr., he was sired by Case Ace, a successful runner at sprint race distances. His dam was Coquelicot who was a daughter of the legendary Man o' War.Trained by Oscar White, Pavot was undefeated in eight...
  
  
• 1944 - Devil Diver
  Devil Diver
  Devil Diver was an American Thoroughbred racehorse foaled at Mrs. Payne Whitney's Greentree Stable in Lexington, Kentucky. A bay colt by Sir Germans, he was out of Dabchick, and a member of the same foal crop as Shut Out...
  
  
• 1943 - Shut Out
  Shut Out (horse)
  Shut Out , was an American Thoroughbred racehorse sired by Hall of Famer Equipoise, the multiple stakes winning champion his fans called "The Chocolate Soldier." Shut Out was bred by the Greentree Stable in Lexington, Kentucky owned by Mrs...
  
  
• 1942 - Apache
• 1941 - Parasang
• 1940 - Eight Thirty
  Eight Thirty
  Eight Thirty was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. He was owned by George D. Widener, Jr. and bred by his Erdenheim Farm. Widener is one of only five people ever named an Exemplar of Racing. Eight Thirty was a descendant of Fair Play, who had been purchased from the estate of...
  
  
• 1939 - Eight Thirty
  Eight Thirty
  Eight Thirty was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. He was owned by George D. Widener, Jr. and bred by his Erdenheim Farm. Widener is one of only five people ever named an Exemplar of Racing. Eight Thirty was a descendant of Fair Play, who had been purchased from the estate of...
  
  
• 1938 - War Admiral
  War Admiral
  War Admiral was an American thoroughbred racehorse, the offspring of the great thoroughbred Man o' War and the mare Brushup. He inherited his father's fiery temperament and talent, but did not resemble him physically...
  
  
• 1937 - Esposa
• 1936 - Discovery
  Discovery (horse)
  Discovery was an American Thoroughbred racehorse about whom the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame said: "...considered one of the greatest horses of the 20th century."...
  
  
• 1935 - Discovery
  Discovery (horse)
  Discovery was an American Thoroughbred racehorse about whom the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame said: "...considered one of the greatest horses of the 20th century."...
  
  
• 1934 - Observant
• 1933 - Equipoise
  Equipoise (horse)
  Equipoise was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse, a chestnut bred in the United States by Harry Payne Whitney and owned by his son, Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney...
  
  
• 1932 - Equipoise
  Equipoise (horse)
  Equipoise was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse, a chestnut bred in the United States by Harry Payne Whitney and owned by his son, Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney...
  
  
• 1931 - Blind Bowboy
• 1930 - Battleship Gray