Dwyer Brothers Stable

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dwyer Brothers Stable was an American thoroughbred horse racing operation owned by Brooklyn, New York businessmen, Phil and Mike Dwyer.

The Dwyer brothers had two notable trainers working for them, Frank McCabe and James G. Rowe, Sr.. The Dwyers won the 1881 Kentucky Derby with future U.S. Hall of Fame colt, Hindoo and finished second with "Runnymede" the following year. However, they had their greatest racing success in the Belmont Stakes in their hometown, winning the classic event five times.

The brothers, either together or individually, owned a number of prominent horses including Hindoo, Bramble, Luke Blackburn, George Kinney, Miss Woodford, Barnes, Hanover, Raceland, Tremont, Ben Brush, and Cleophus. Mike Dwyer was a partner in Kingston.

In 1886 they were a key part of the group of investors who formed the Brooklyn Jockey Club and built the Gravesend Race Track at Gravesend on Coney Island. The brothers racing partnership was dissolved in 1890 and Mike Dwyer went on to enjoy further success. He won the Kentucky Derby for the second time in 1896 with Ben Brush, ridden by jockey Willie Simms.

The Dwyer's were owners who, like many others of that era, pushed their horses hard in a manner that would be unacceptable today.

The Brooklyn Derby, founded in 1887, was renamed the Dwyer Stakes in their honor in 1918.