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In 1941 renowned horsemen Fred H. Post and his son William, came to Aiken to play polo. Aiken was considered at the time (and still is today!) a National polo capital and Aiken's lure as a 'Winter Colony' for wealthy Northerners was well established by that time. The comfortable climate of mild winters and early springs combined with the sandy soil was ideal for the pursuit of a variety of equestrian activities. Post, impressed by the area, decided to construct the Aiken Training Track to condition his flat racers. He found the perfect location along Two Notch Road where his track would be surrounded by established polo fields, quiet dirt roads and within hacking distance of the Hitchcock Woods, which at over 2,000 acres is one of America's largest urban forests.
It didn't take long for the Aiken Training Track to be considered one of the finest training centers in the country when horses trained here started earning their Championship laurels in 1942, starting with Elkridge, a Champion Steeplechaser. Famous horse owners with names like, Greentree, Vanderbilt, Rokeby and Claiborne Farm started sending their horses to Winter in the South under the care of future Hall of Fame trainers Mackenzie (Mack) Miller, John Gaver, William Burch, Woody Stephens and many others.
Since that time 38 Champion Thoroughbreds have been crowned. They are pictured below by the year their title was earned. Thanks to the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing and Hall of Fame Museum for providing all the images and information on this page!
Clicking on an image below will download their race statistics. (Files are in PDF format requiring Adobe Acrobat Reader. Don't have it? Click here to download it for free.)
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