Annapolis Subscription Plate
Encyclopedia
The Annapolis Subscription Plate is the name given both to the first recorded formal horse race in colonial Maryland and to the silver trophy awarded to the winner of the race. It is the second oldest known horse racing trophy in America.
(1703–1783) - whose son, also called Charles Carroll
, would later sign the Declaration of Independence
in 1776 - wagered that his horse would win in a 3-mile race.
Carroll's rival was Dungannon
, owned by the tobacco planter and horse breeder George Hume Steuart
who imported the thoroughbred from England. The race was held at Parole, Maryland
, at what would later become the Parole Hunt Club
. Dungannon won the race, establishing a tradition of horse racing at Parole that would last until the club's sale and redevelopment as a shopping center in 1962.
The silver plate itself - in reality more of a bowl than a plate - is now displayed in the Baltimore Museum of Art
, and was made by the Annapolis silversmith
John Inch (1721–1763). Punch bowls were popular as racing trophies in the Eighteenth Century. It is the oldest surviving silver object made in the state of Maryland, the oldest horseracing trophy in North America and the second oldest trophy of any kind on the continent.
Racing was suspended during the American Revolution
, but a meeting of the Jockey Club took place on Saturday, March 1, 1783, at Mr Mann's tavern in Annapolis, at which a number of Dr Steuart's descendents were present. Club rules were set down including that the plate given by the club should be run on the first Tuesday of November, at Annapolis, that the prize money should be "sixty guineas", and that the annual subscription should be "three guineas".
.
That replica, "The Dungannon Bowl", is a perpetual trophy given annually to the winner of the Dixie Stakes, the oldest stakes race run in Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic states.
The race has been revived in certain recent years by the descendants of Dr Steuart
, who still live at Dodon
today.
History
The race took place on the South river near Annapolis in May 1743.Charles CarrollCharles Carroll of Annapolis
Charles Carroll of Annapolis was a wealthy Maryland planter and lawyer. His father was Charles Carroll the Settler, an immigrant to Maryland who had arrived in the colony in 1689 with a commission as Attorney General, and had accumulated a vast fortune, emerging as Maryland's wealthiest citizen...
(1703–1783) - whose son, also called Charles Carroll
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Charles Carroll of Carrollton was a wealthy Maryland planter and an early advocate of independence from Great Britain. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and later as United States Senator for Maryland...
, would later sign the Declaration of Independence
Declaration of independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
in 1776 - wagered that his horse would win in a 3-mile race.
Carroll's rival was Dungannon
Dungannon (horse)
Dungannon, , was a thoroughbred racehorse owned by the tobacco planter and horse breeder George Hume Steuart , who imported the horse from England to race against his rival, Charles Carroll of Annapolis...
, owned by the tobacco planter and horse breeder George Hume Steuart
George Hume Steuart
George Hume Steuart, was a physician, tobacco planter, and Loyalist politician in colonial Maryland. Born in Perthshire, Scotland, Steuart emigrated to Maryland in around 1721, where he benefited from proprietarial patronage and was appointed to a number of colonial offices, eventually becoming a...
who imported the thoroughbred from England. The race was held at Parole, Maryland
Parole, Maryland
Parole is a census-designated place in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 14,031 at the 2000 census. It is where several major roads intersect at the edge of the state capital, Annapolis, and adjacent to the Annapolis Mall shopping center and Anne Arundel Medical Center...
, at what would later become the Parole Hunt Club
Parole Hunt Club
The Parole Hunt Club was a half-mile race track in Parole, Maryland, dedicated to horse racing, including pacers and trotters, on land now known as Riva Road...
. Dungannon won the race, establishing a tradition of horse racing at Parole that would last until the club's sale and redevelopment as a shopping center in 1962.
The silver plate itself - in reality more of a bowl than a plate - is now displayed in the Baltimore Museum of Art
Baltimore Museum of Art
The Baltimore Museum of Art in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, was founded in 1914. Built in the Roman Temple style, the Museum is home to an internationally renowned collection of 19th-century, modern, and contemporary art. Founded in 1914 with a single painting, the BMA today has 90,000 works...
, and was made by the Annapolis silversmith
Silversmith
A silversmith is a craftsperson who makes objects from silver or gold. The terms 'silversmith' and 'goldsmith' are not synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product varies greatly as does the scale of objects created.Silversmithing is the...
John Inch (1721–1763). Punch bowls were popular as racing trophies in the Eighteenth Century. It is the oldest surviving silver object made in the state of Maryland, the oldest horseracing trophy in North America and the second oldest trophy of any kind on the continent.
Racing was suspended during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, but a meeting of the Jockey Club took place on Saturday, March 1, 1783, at Mr Mann's tavern in Annapolis, at which a number of Dr Steuart's descendents were present. Club rules were set down including that the plate given by the club should be run on the first Tuesday of November, at Annapolis, that the prize money should be "sixty guineas", and that the annual subscription should be "three guineas".
Modern era
The original plate was donated to the Baltimore Museum of Art by Mrs Alice Key Montell and Mrs Sarah Steuart Hartshorne. A solid silver replica of similar weight and dimensions mirroring the original Annapolis Subscription Plate was commissioned in 1955 by the Maryland Jockey ClubMaryland Jockey Club
The Maryland Jockey Club is a sporting organization dedicated to horse racing, founded in Annapolis in 1743. The Jockey Club was founded more than 30 years before the start of the Revolutionary War and is chartered as the oldest sporting organization in North America...
.
The race has been revived in certain recent years by the descendants of Dr Steuart
George Hume Steuart
George Hume Steuart, was a physician, tobacco planter, and Loyalist politician in colonial Maryland. Born in Perthshire, Scotland, Steuart emigrated to Maryland in around 1721, where he benefited from proprietarial patronage and was appointed to a number of colonial offices, eventually becoming a...
, who still live at Dodon
Dodon
Dodon, is a farm and former tobacco plantation in Maryland, located near the South River about south west of Annapolis. Purchased in around 1744 by the planter and politician Dr George H. Steuart, it remains the home of Steuart's descendants to this day...
today.
External links
- Official Dodon website and history of the estate Retrieved February 20, 2010
- Article on Annapolis Subscription Plate at www.hometownannapolis.com Retrieved February 20, 2010
- History of Maryland Jockey Club Retrieved February 20, 2010