Flatbush Stakes
Discontinued stakes race
LocationSheepshead Bay Race Track, Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York
Inaugurated1884–1909
Race typeThoroughbred – Flat racing
Race information
Distance7 furlongs
TrackDirt, left-handed
QualificationTwo-years-old

The Flatbush Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. Held in September, it was an important event for two-year-olds of either sex. The race was run on dirt over a distance of seven furlongs and was generally the longest distance to that point for the participants who were in their first year of racing.[1][2]

The inaugural running in 1884 was won by the filly Wanda who was selected through a present-day review process by Thoroughbred Heritage as the 1884 American Champion Two-Year-Old Female [3] The final running in 1909 was won by the colt Waldo who would earn annual Co-Champion honors as one of the 1887–1935 Champions selected retrospectively by a panel of experts as published by the widely respected The Blood-Horse magazine.[4][5]

Champions who won the Flatbush Stakes

  1. Lady Violet
  2. Requital
  3. Ornament
  4. Nasturtium
  5. Irish Lad
  6. Highball
  7. Colin (HoF)
  8. Sir Martin
  9. Waldo

Demise of the Flatbush Stakes

On June 11, 1908, the Republican controlled New York Legislature under Governor Charles Evans Hughes passed the Hart–Agnew anti-betting legislation with penalties allowing for fines and up to a year in prison.[6] The owners of Sheepshead Bay Race Track, and other racing facilities in New York State, struggled to stay in business without betting.[7] Racetrack operators had no choice but to drastically reduce the purse money being paid out which by 1909 saw the Flatbush Stakes offering a purse that was nearly a tenth of what it had been in earlier years.[8] Further restrictive legislation was passed by the New York Legislature in 1910 which deepened the financial crisis for track operators and led to a complete shut down of racing across the state during 1911 and 1912. When a Court ruling saw racing return in 1913 it was too late for the Sheepshead Bay horse racing facility and it never reopened.

Records

Speed record:

Most wins by a jockey:

Most wins by a trainer:

Most wins by an owner:

Winners

Year
 Winner
 Age
 Jockey
 Trainer
 Owner
 Dist.
(F) 		Time
 Win US$
1909 Waldo 2 Charles Grand Raleigh Colston Jr. Charles L. Harrison 7 F 1:26.20 $1,425
1908 Sir Martin 2 Cal Shilling John E. Madden John E. Madden 7 F 1:25.40 $11,100
1907 Colin 2 Walter Miller James G. Rowe Sr. James R. Keene 7 F 1:24.80 $8,350
1906 De Mund 2 Herman Radtke John W. May Paul J. Rainey 7 F 1:26.20 $8,350
1905 Yankee Consul 2 Jack Martin John W. May Tippah Farms Stable 7 F 1:26.00 $8,350
1904 Tradition 2 Lucien Lyne A. Jack Joyner Sydney Paget 7 F 1:25.20 $8,350
1903 Highball 2 Grover Fuller John W. May Walter M. Shiftel 7 F 1:25.60 $8,350
1902 Irish Lad 2 Nash Turner John W. Rogers W. C. Whitney & H. B. Duryea 7 F 1:26.00 $3,850
1901 Nasturtium 2 Nash Turner John W. Rogers William C. Whitney 7 F 1:25.60 $3,850
1900 Ballyhoo Bey 2 Tod Sloan John E. Madden William C. Whitney 7 F 1:26.00 $3,850
1899 Lieut. Gibson 2 Frank O'Leary Charles H. Hughes Charles Head Smith 7 F 1:30.00 $3,475
1898 Autumn † 2 Danny Maher A. Jack Joyner A. Jack Joyner 7 F 1:28.00 $2,400
1897 Previous 2 Tod Sloan Hardy Campbell Jr. Michael F. Dwyer 7 F 1:28.40 $2,350
1896 Ornament 2 Alonzo Clayton Charles T. Patterson Charles T. Patterson 7 F 1:27.20 $2,350
1895 Requital 2 Henry Griffin John Hyland David Gideon 7 F 1:26.00 $2,400
1894 Lissak 2 Samuel Doggett Raleigh Colston Jr. Jack P. Chinn 7 F 1:29.00 $3,500
1893 Senator Grady 2 Samuel Doggett Matthew Byrnes Marcus Daly 7 F 1:29.20 $3,350
1892 Lady Violet 2 Willie Simms A. Jack Joyner Blemton Stable 7 F 1:28.60 $3,800
1891 Merry Monarch 2 Marty Bergen John Hyland David Gideon 7 F 1:29.40 $4,450
1890 Potomac 2 Anthony Hamilton James G. Rowe Sr. August Belmont Sr. 7 F 1:29.80 $4,550
1889 Torso 2 Anthony Hamilton Charles Leighton William L. Scott 7 F 1:34.00 $6,600
1888 Salvator 2 Shelby Barnes Matthew Byrnes James B. A. Haggin 7 F 1:30.80 $5,450
1887 Sir Dixon 2 William J. Fitzpatrick Green B. Morris Green B. Morris 7 F 1:29.00 $5,650
1886 King Fox 2 John Spellman Jim Murphy James B. A. Haggin 7 F 1:27.75 $3,650
1885 Charity 2 Robert "Tiny" Williams William L. Scott 7 F 1:31.25 $4,700
1884 Wanda 2 Harris Olney Matthew Byrnes Pierre Lorillard IV 7 F 1:31.00 $2,475
The disqualified Martimas in 1898, the winner of the Futurity, 1898: The Rancho del Paso Stake; Niagara Stake; Canadian Derby; Nautilus Stake; Toronto Cup; and Spencer Handicap. Total winnings $52,000

References

  1. ^ "Races At Sheepshead Bay". New York Times. 1899-09-03. Retrieved 2018-12-28.
  2. ^ "The Flatbush Draws Much Attention". Daily Racing Form. 1909-09-04. Retrieved 2018-12-30 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
  3. ^ "American Champion Two-Year-Old Female". Thoroughbred Heritage. 2018-12-29. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
  4. ^ "Waldo Regains Prestige: C. L. Harrisons Crack Colt an Easy Winner in Flatbush Stakes". Daily Racing Form. 1909-09-05. Retrieved 2018-12-30 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
  5. ^ "Champions, Kentucky Derby Winners" (PDF). Churchill Downs Incorporated. 2016-01-01. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
  6. ^ "Penalties in the New York Bills". Daily Racing Form. 1908-01-18. Retrieved 2018-10-26 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
  7. ^ "Keep Up Betting Ban". New York Times. 1908-09-01. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  8. ^ "Striking Falling off in Value of Ten Greatest Stakes". Daily Racing Form. 1910-07-16. Retrieved 2018-10-15 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
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