The Go For Wand Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race established in 1954 for fillies and mares age three and up. Raced in the fall, it is a Grade II race (Grade I before 2010) on dirt at a distance of one mile.
Inaugurated in 1954 at Belmont Park as the Maskette Stakes in honor of the Hall of Fame filly, Maskette, it was renamed in 1992 for its ill-fated 1990 winner and Hall of Fame inductee, Go For Wand who is buried in the infield at Saratoga Race Course.
The Maskette took place at Aqueduct Racetrack in 1959, 1960, and from 1962 to 1968. Since 1994, the Go For Wand has been hosted by Saratoga Race Course. After not being raced in 2010, the Go For Wand Handicap returned to Aqueduct on November 25, 2011. The distance reverted back to the mile distance the race was contested at prior to its move to Saratoga Race Course.
Since inception, the race has been contested at various distances:
- 1 mile (8 furlongs) : 1954-1981, 1983–1993, 2011-
- 7 furlongs : 1982
- 1⅛ miles (9 furlongs) : 1994-2009
The race was run in two divisions in 1976.
Famous quotes containing the words wand and/or handicap:
“Better beware of notions like genius and inspiration; they are a sort of magic wand and should be used sparingly by anybody who wants to see things clearly.”
—José Ortega Y Gasset (1883–1955)
“I have the handicap of being born with a special language to which I alone have the key.”
—Gustave Flaubert (1821–1880)