U.S. Open Polo Championship
The US Open Polo Championship is an annual polo championship in the United States. It is organized by the United States Polo Association. It was first played on September 20, 1904 at Van Cortlandt Park in The Bronx in New York City. At the first game the Wanderers defeated the Meadowbrook Freebooters.
After the inaugural U.S. Open in 1904, the tournament was not played again until 1910, when it grew to include six teams. It resumed at Narragansett Pier, Rhode Island, where it was played for several years before relocating to what became its longtime home, Meadowbrook Polo Club in Old Westbury, New York.
In 1954, the U.S. Open moved to Oak Brook, Illinois, where it remained for 22 years, followed by an eight-year stint at Retama in San Antonio, Texas.
In the late 1980s and into the 1990s, the tournament circulated among several clubs throughout the United States, including Eldorado, Lexington, Palm Beach and Royal Palm. In 2004, marking one hundred years since the tournament's inception, the U.S. Open Polo Championship relocated to the International Polo Club Palm Beach, where it has been ever since.
The U.S. Open Polo Championship trophy was designed by artist Sally James Farnham. The silver cup features horses and riders in relief around the top perimeter and bottom bowl of the cup with rearing horses rising from the base of the cup.
The individual record holder with the most US Open Polo Championship victories is Guillermo Gracida Jr with 16 total wins.
The two individuals with the greatest length of time between their first victory and their latest victory are Guillermo Gracida Jr and Michael V. Azzaro both with 27 years between first and last wins.
The individual record holder with the most US Open Polo Championship runner-up appearances is Thomas "Tommy" Hitchcock, Jr. with 9 total runner-up appearances.
The Championship has been won four times by non-U.S. based teams. The foreign winners were: Ranelagh from England, the Argentine Polo Federation team, the Argentine Santa Paula team, and Mexico.
On April 12, 1998, Nic Roldan became the youngest player to ever win the Championship. He was 15 years and 129 days old.
Unlike its counterpart the Argentine Open Polo Championship in Argentina, no 40 goal team has ever competed for the U.S. Open Polo Championship. Originally there were no team handicap limits for the U.S. Open, but limits were eventually put in place by the United States Polo Association in the post-WWII era. During most of the post-WWII era the handicap limit per team was 26 goals. In 2019, the United States Polo Association lowered the maximum handicap for the tournament to 22 goals per team in an effort to foster increased tournament participation.
List of U.S. Open Polo Champions
Multiple U.S. Open Polo Championship Winners
| Player | Titles | First Title | Most Recent |
| Guillermo Gracida Jr | 16 | 1977 | 2004 |
| Carlos Gracida | 9 | 1982 | 2003 |
| Adolfo Cambiaso | 8 | 1999 | 2017 |
| Michael V. Azzaro | 7 | 1986 | 2013 |
| Harold L. Barry | 7 | 1954 | 1970 |
| Ray Harrington Jr. | 7 | 1956 | 1969 |
| Harold A. Barry | 6 | 1968 | 1979 |
| George H. Bostwick | 6 | 1935 | 1954 |
| Thomas Wayman | 6 | 1969 | 1986 |
| J. Watson Webb | 6 | 1914 | 1929 |
| Alan L. Corey Jr. | 5 | 1940 | 1954 |
| Stewart B. Iglehart | 5 | 1932 | 1953 |
| Mike Phipps | 5 | 1932 | 1941 |
| Facundo Pieres | 5 | 2009 | 2019 |
| Stephen "Laddie" Sanford | 5 | 1926 | 1949 |
| Cecil Smith | 5 | 1937 | 1960 |
| Charles W. Smith | 5 | 1964 | 1976 |
| Robert E. Strawbridge Jr. | 5 | 1921 | 1930 |
Titles by team
| Team | Titles |
| Meadow Brook | 8 |
| Oak Brook | 6 |
| Milwaukee | 5 |
| Retama | 5 |
| Hurricanes | 5 |
| Outback | 5 |
| Tulsa | 4 |
| Old Westbury | 3 |
| Les Diables Blues | 3 |
| Crab Orchard | 3 |
| Bostwick Field | 2 |
| Greentree | 2 |
| Templeton | 2 |
| Cooperstown | 2 |
| Isla Carroll | 2 |
| Santa Barbara | 2 |
| Valiente | 2 |
| Zacara | 2 |