The Agua Caliente Handicap is a defunct thoroughbred horse race that was once the premier event at Agua Caliente Racetrack in Tijuana , Baja California , Mexico , and the richest race in North America. Inaugurated in 1917 as the Coffroth Handicap, it was named in honor of James Wood Coffroth, President of the Lower California Jockey Club. It was run at the Tijuana Racetrack through 1929 after which it was hosted by the newly built Agua Caliente Racetrack.
14-552: In the 1930s the event offered a $ 100,000 purse which drew high-profile stable owners from the United States and Canada such as Adolph B. Spreckels , J. K. L. Ross , Charles Howard , Suzanne Mason and the Seagram family stables . Among the champions to win the race were Round Table , Gallant Sir , who won it twice and in record time, Seabiscuit , and Phar Lap , who won the 1932 race, ridden by Billy Elliot , in track record time. It
28-551: A San Francisco Park Commissioner and was involved in the development of Golden Gate Park. Spreckels Lake is named after him. Spreckels Organ Pavilion in San Diego 's Balboa Park , housing the largest outdoor pipe organ in the world, was built by Spreckels and his brother, John . John commissioned Spreckels Organ in the Palace of the Legion of Honor in tribute to Adolph, who died before it
42-597: The Carlton Stakes where racing fans at Aqueduct Racetrack watched as Harry Payne Whitney's colt Whiskaway handed Morvich his first defeat. The colt 's knees were the likely cause of his decline. Morvich had also developed osselets in one fetlock . Morvich ended his 1922 campaign with the Derby his only victory in five starts. After finishing unplaced in the Fall Highweight Handicap at Aqueduct Racetrack, he
56-577: The Kentucky Derby . Bred by sugar magnate Adolph B. Spreckels at his Napa Stock Farm, Morvich was sired by James R. Keene's stallion Runnymede and was out of the mare Hymir by Dr. Leggo. He was sold to Benjamin Block. The young colt was described as an "ugly cripple that no one thought could run until (trainer) Burlew proved them wrong." Despite the predictions at the time, under future Hall of Fame trainer Fred Burlew, in 1921 Morvich had one of
70-550: The Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, was designed by George A. Applegarth and Kenneth A. MacDonald Jr. in the French Baroque style. The chateau was designated as San Francisco Landmark #197 on June 9, 1990. Morvich Triple Crown Race wins: Kentucky Derby (1922) Morvich (April 23, 1919 – January 26, 1946) was an American Thoroughbred who was the first California-bred racehorse to win
84-529: The Kentucky Derby, bettors made him the heavy favorite to win. Ridden by Albert Johnson , the colt earned his 12th straight victory. In an era when the U.S. Triple Crown races had not yet become the major event for three-year-olds, Morvich did not compete in the Preakness Stakes (which was run on the same day as the Kentucky Derby in 1922). Instead, his handlers sent him to New York City to compete in
98-681: The Legion of Honor art museum to the city of San Francisco in 1924. His wife, Alma , was called the "great grandmother of San Francisco". His 1912 mansion is in Pacific Heights and is San Francisco Landmark #197. Spreckels was born in San Francisco, California. His parents were Anna Christina Mangels and Claus Spreckels , founder of the Spreckels Sugar Company . At the age of 12, Adolph studied abroad in Hanover, Germany , for two years, returning to San Francisco to finish his studies. When
112-794: The Legion of Honor was championed by his wife, and paid for from the Spreckels fortune. It was merged with the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum in 1972 and became the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco . Spreckels was president of the San Francisco and San Mateo Electric Railway , vice-president of the Western Sugar Company and the Oceanic Steamship Company , and was a director of the Sunset Monarch Company. He served as
126-489: The best seasons in American racing history for a two-year-old. Beginning as a lowly selling plater, he rapidly moved up, winning all 11 of his starts, a feat that ranks close to the record of 13 consecutive wins set by Tremont in 1886. Dominating performances against the best horses in his age group made Morvich the runaway winner of American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt honors. Although Morvich did not race in 1922 leading up to
140-499: The company was founded in 1881, he was named a vice-president. Spreckels succeeded his father as company president upon the latter's death in 1908. In 1884, he shot Michael H. de Young , co-founder of the San Francisco Chronicle , because of an article suggesting his sugar company defrauded its shareholders. Spreckels pleaded temporary insanity to the charge of attempted murder and was acquitted. The California Palace of
154-430: The term which is still used today in regard to sugar dating . After the birth of his last daughter, Spreckels' health began to deteriorate due to syphilis he had contracted before his marriage. He had kept the disease secret from his wife, but during most of their marriage it had been in a latent, non-contagious state. Spreckels died in 1924 from pneumonia . The family's mansion, located at 2080 Washington Street in
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#1732851216590168-412: Was completed. Spreckels owned and bred race horses , including Morvich , the first California-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby in 1922, in a time of 2:04.60. He and Alma de Bretteville were married on May 11, 1908, after a five-year courtship. They had three children, daughter, Alma Emma, son, Adolph Bernard, Jr., and daughter, Dorothy Constance. She referred to him as "sugar daddy", coining
182-489: Was the great Australian champion's only North American appearance. After the 1934 racing season, the government of Mexico outlawed gambling until 1938 by which time the track had been effectively replaced by the new Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California , United States , the choice of convenience for owners as a place to train, stable, and race their horses. The Agua Caliente Handicap was only run twice more: in 1938, when it
196-481: Was won by Seabiscuit, and in 1958, when it was won by Round Table. Distances: Speed record: (at 1¼ miles) Most wins: Most wins by a jockey : Most wins by a trainer : Most wins by an owner: Adolph B. Spreckels Adolph Bernard Spreckels (January 5, 1857 – June 28, 1924) was a California businessman who ran the Spreckels Sugar Company and who donated the California Palace of
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