A silver cigarette case commemorating the first running of the Washington DC International in 1952, American sterling silver by R Blackinton, the lid

A silver cigarette case commemorating the first running of the Washington DC International in 1952, American sterling silver by R Blackinton, the lid inscribed 1st RUNNING, WASHINGTON D.C. INTERNATIONAL, OCTOBER 18th 1952, LAUREL RACE COURSE, LAUREL - MD, gilt interior The first running of the Washington DC International was won by the British challenger Wilwyn, owned by Robert C Boucher, trained by John Waugh and ridden by Manny Mercer. In Life magazine vol 33 dated 3rd Nov 1952 there is a 3 page article on the race and on page 94 there is a picture of Manny Mercer being given an identical silver cigarette case by John Shapiro, the President of Laurel Race Course.