Mrs. Edward E. Robbins'
Midafternoon came into the 1956 Display Handicap having already won two of that year's important races, the
Metropolitan and
Massachusetts Handicaps. In winning the Display, Midafternoon set a new Jamaica Race Course
record with a time of 3:29 3/5 for 2 miles. Primordial II was an
Argentine-bred who had been racing in
Venezuela for trainer Laffit Pincay Sr., father of
Laffit Pincay Jr. who in 1966 would emigrate to the United States where would become one of the most successful in American racing history and a
U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. Primordial II was brought to the United States to run in the mile and one-half
Washington, D.C. International Stakes. The 1962 Venezuelan Horse of the Year finished sixth to the legendary American runner
Kelso but came back to win the two-mile Display Handicap by eight lengths over the heavily favored
Christiana Stables runner
Smart.
Paraje, an Argentine-bred bought as a two-year-old by the Venezuelan-owned Stud Los Libertadores who would race him in Venezuela until being sold in late 1970 to American businessman
Sigmund Sommer. Paraje won the 1971 Display Handicap in track record time then won it again in each of the next two years. In the 1973 edition Paraje set a new American and
world record time of 3:47 4/5 for miles on dirt. Paraje's owner, Sigmund Sommer, would win this race a record total five times. The only other horse to win the race more than once was
Louis R. Rowan and
Wheelock Whitney Jr.'s
Quicken Tree who first won it in 1967 and after not running in the 1968 race, came back to win it again in 1969, defeating Hydrologist by 7 lengths. The 1976 race was won by Frampton Delight when Cunning Trick was disqualified for interference as the two battled down the homestretch. ==Records==