The Aiken Steeplechase has been a major event in local horse racing dating back to 1930. This year’s event hosted a full field of horses in what is believed to be the Steeplechase’s biggest race.
Over 25,000 people gathered Saturday to watch the 57th version of the Aiken Steeplechase take place and to mark the start of the National Steeplechase Association’s 16-stop Spring calendar.
Frank Mullins, president of the Aiken Steeplechase, was pleased with the turnout.
“It’s a big day for Aiken,” said Mullins who’s been president since last summer. “There’s a lot of people out here to celebrate the start of Spring and to come to this race.”
Fans started piling in at 8 a.m. for the races, and by the time the first horses got to the start line began at 1 p.m., the excitement was palpable.
“This is a huge, festive atmosphere,” Mullins said. “This is a family-oriented event. There are kids running around everywhere, families everywhere, people are having fun betting on which horses will win, so it’s just a great outside family day.”
Aiken had a week full of rain showers and thunderstorms, causing some concern for inclement weather, but the association promised to race rain or shine.
“The rain actually was a help,” Mullins said. “We have to water the track to a point to have the compaction correct for the horses to run. So, it actually saved us from having to water it. It was like Mother Nature knew exactly how much to give us so the track couldn’t have been better.”
The afternoon began with the James W. Maloney training flat, which is a 1 ¼ mile race with no hurdles and for no purse. It was a tight race throughout with Memento and Bee Major leading it for most of the way, but Hidden Path stole this one by 2 ¾ lengths. The jockey for Hidden Path was Harrison Beswick.
Next up was the G.H. “Pete” Bostwick starter maiden hurdle race. Taking home the prize was Secret Soulmate ridden by Jamie Bargary, earning $12,000 of the $20,000 purse. In second and third place were Greylover and Evie’s Prince.
The third race of the day was the Charles Bird III handicap hurdle. Taking home the $15,000 purse was Clara Belle, ridden by Bernard Dalton. This horse is owned by Jordan V. Wycoff and President Frank Mullins.
The Ford Conger maiden hurdle came next, and this was the least competitive as Chef d’Etat ran away from the rest of the field by 10 lengths — the largest margin of victory on the day. Parker Hendriks was the winning jockey as he collected a purse of $18,000.
In the Joe Blanchard filly/mare maiden hurdle race, it was Haint Blue that came out on top thanks to a final stretch giving them an 8 ¼ length win. Riding Haint Blue was Bernard Dalton, who added to his purse on the day earning $18,000.
The sixth and final race of the day was the most lucrative with the winner receiving $21,000. Finishing out the afternoon with a win was West Newton ridden by Harrison Beswick. The seven-year-old West Newton was bred by Queen Elizabeth II.
