Whirlaway Handicap

Whirlaway Handicap
Discontinued stakes race
LocationWashington Park,
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Inaugurated1946-1952
Race typeThoroughbred - Flat racing
Race information
Distance1+316 miles (9.5 furlongs)
SurfaceDirt
Trackleft-handed
QualificationThree-years-old and up
PurseU.S.$40,000

The Whirlaway Handicap is a discontinued Thoroughbred horse race run at Washington Park Race Track in Chicago, Illinois. The event was first held on August 21, 1946, and had its final running on August 16, 1952. Open to horses three years of age and older, the race on dirt was run as the Whirlaway Stakes from 1946 to 1951 and for 1952 as the Whirlaway Handicap.[1][2]

In winning the 1949 race, Coaltown set a new world record for one mile on dirt while beating his Calumet Farm stablemate Ponder who on May 7 had won the 1949 Kentucky Derby.[3]

Race distances:

  • 1 3/16 miles : 1952
  • 1 1/8 miles : 1946–1948, 1951
  • 1 mile : 1949-1950