Iroquois Steeplechase Set for May 14, 2011
It all began in 1936 when Marcellus Frost suggested to John Sloan, Sr. that a hillside in Warner Parks would make a perfect location for an equestrian racecourse. It was several years later that President Franklin Roosevelt, through the Works Progress Administration, granted permission for a three-mile course to be built. In 1941, the first running of The Iroquois Steeplechase took place.
Seventy years later, the Iroquois Steeplechase still races in Warner Parks, where it has become a celebration of spring and a family tradition that attracts huge crowds annually and horses from all around the globe. This year’s event will take place on Saturday, May 14.
“We are proud Nashville is home to the hottest contested steeplechasing event on the National Steeplechasing Association’s spring circuit,” said Dwight Hall, event chairman. “We are particularly proud that this will be the 70th year that the Iroquois Steeplechase has taken place on these grounds.”
The running of the Iroquois will once again benefit the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Since the partnership began in 1981, more than $9 million has been raised for Children’s Hospital.
For more information about the Iroquois Steeplechase, visit www.iroquoissteeplechase.org/ or call 1-800-619-4802.
About the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt:
Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt is nationally recognized as a leading provider of pediatric health care services. Children’s Hospital is ranked as one of the top 26 children’s hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report magazine in the specialty areas of urology, neonatology, digestive disorders, orthopaedics, heart/heart surgery and is ranked 15th in the nation by Parents magazine. A 238-bed facility, Children’s Hospital provides the highest level of pediatric care and is also a top-level teaching and research facility. Children’s Hospital features Centers of Excellence for the treatment of diabetes and congenital heart disorders, and offers treatment for cancer, organ and bone marrow transplants, level 1 pediatric trauma, developmental disorders and a neonatal intensive care unit with the highest designated level of care in the state.
