Remsen Stakes

Remsen Stakes

Grade II race
Location	Aqueduct Racetrack Queens, New York
Inaugurated	1904
Race type	Thoroughbred - Flat racing
Website	www.nyra.com/index_aqueduct.html
Race information
Distance	1 1⁄8 miles (9 furlongs)
Surface	Dirt
Track	left-handed
Qualification	Two-year-olds
Weight	Handicap
Purse	$300,000

The Remsen Stakes is an American Grade II race for Thoroughbred horse race run annually near the end of November at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. The one and one-eighths mile race is open to two-year-olds and currently offers a purse of $300,000.

Inaugurated in 1904, the Remsen was named for Colonel Joremus Remsen (1735–1790) whose family at one time owned a large portion of Long Island and who became leader of the American Revolutionary forces at the 1776 Battle of Long Island.

Run at Jamaica Racetrack from inception in 1904 to 1959, it was run in two divisions in 1943 and until 1954 was known as the Remsen Handicap. There was no race held in 1908, and none from 1910 to 1917 as well as 1951.

The Remsen stakes is influential as one of the last graded stakes for two-year-olds on the New York racing circuit and its winner is generally among the winterbook favorites for the following year's Kentucky Derby.

Since inception, the Remsen has been competed over various distances:

• 5 furlongs : 1948
• 5.5 furlongs : 1904–1917
• 6 furlongs : 1918–1945, 1949–1950
• 1-mile (1.6 km) : 1959–1972
• 1 ¹⁄₁₆ : 1946–1947, 1952–1958
• 1 ¹⁄₈ miles : 1973 to present

Records

Speed record: (at current 1 ¹⁄₈ miles distance)

• 1:47 4/5 - Believe It (1977)

Most wins by an owner:

• 2 - Brookmeade Stable (1940, 1944)
• 2 - Maine Chance Farm (1944, 1945)
• 2 - Allen T. Simmons (1942, 1948)
• 2 - Windfields Farm (1959, 1963)
• 2 - Rokeby Stable (1971, 1986)
• 2 - WinStar Farm (2005, 2007)

Most wins by a jockey:

• 4 - Eddie Maple (1972, 1977, 1981, 1989)

Winners of the Remsen Stakes since 1959

Earlier winners

Notes:

See also

• Road to the Kentucky Derby