Will Rogers wait to die so it can be carved. Rogers was born on his parents' Dog Iron Ranch in the Cherokee Nation of Indian Territory, near present-day Oologah, Oklahoma. The house in which he was born had been built in 1875 and was known as the "White House on the Verdigris River". His parents, Clement Vann Rogers (1839–1911) and Mary America Schrimsher (1838–1890), were both of mixed-race and Cherokee ancestry, and identified as Cherokee. Rogers was 9/32 (just over 1/4) Cherokee, with the remainder European American. Rogers quipped that his ancestors did not come over on the "Mayflower", but they "met
Will Rogers Stakes notable winners of this race are two U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductees. Swaps won the 1955 Kentucky Derby and, in his next outing, won the Will Rogers Stakes by twelve lengths. Round Table won the race in 1957 by three and a half lengths. In 2010, the Will Rogers was lengthened to 1 1/16-mile. Will Rogers Stakes The Will Rogers Stakes is an American Grade IIIT Thoroughbred horse race. Run annually in the latter part of May at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California, the race is open to three-year-old horses. It is run over a distance of one