The Aiken Trials give young thoroughbreds a taste for racing. TODD BENNETT/FILE

Aiken Trials to test young racehorses

Web posted March 17, 2000

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By Greg Rickabaugh
South Carolina Bureau

AIKEN -- The calendar says spring starts Monday, but many Aiken residents will tell you it actually begins Saturday with the first of three straight weekends of horse racing.

The 58th running of the Aiken Trials kicks off the Aiken Triple Crown. The Trials -- a series of flat-track sprints -- serve as a first test for young thoroughbreds. The horses, mostly 2-year-olds, run under actual race conditions after training all winter. The races also feature older horses, including 3- and 4-year-olds.

Mary Jane Howell, a spokeswoman with Dogwood Stables, said the Trials allow young horses to get experience they wouldn't normally get in Aiken by putting them in front of cars, people and screaming kids.

Jockeys Pedro Castillo (left) and Kelly Tucker in last year's Trials. FILE/STAFF

``This will make them better prepared,'' she said. ``You can really use it as a springboard to those first starts in April or May. It can be a useful tool.''

For older horses, it can be a chance to get their minds in action again, she said.

Organizers expect the crowds to number between 5,000 and 7,000. The event, which is sponsored by Aiken Jaycees, is also well known for is tailgating and picnics.

According to the Aiken Chamber of Commerce, the Aiken Trials has served since 1942 as the ``public'' viewing of some of the most promising racing thoroughbreds in the world. Their annual training in Aiken is culminated as the young 2- and 3-year-old horses race under full grandstand conditions and against one another in timed trials, or flat racing events.

Triple Crown Section  Race for the crown  Steeplechase event grows  Horses help economy  Trials test young horses  Facilities draw trainers  Gelderlanders to compete  Harness racing fever  Harness racing began as a 'church activity'   MAPS  Aiken Trials  Steeplechase  Harness Race

The site of the trials is the Aiken Training Track on Two Notch Road, a track built by the late Fred H. Post and his son William in 1941. Trainers from well-known stables have trained at the track since is founding.

Recent competitors at the Trials have included 1993 Kentucky Derby winner Sea Hero, 1990 Preakness winner Summer Squall and Storm Song, a 1996 Eclipse Award winner for best 2-year-old filly.

Reach Greg Rickabaugh at (803) 279-6895.