Sheepshead Bay Stakes

Sheepshead Bay Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the end of May at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. A Grade II event contested on turf at a distance of 1 ³⁄₈ miles (11 furlongs), it is open to fillies and mares, four-years-old and up. Prior to 1962, it was open to horses of either sex.

The first Sheepshead Bay Handicap was a race run from 1894 through 1910 at the now defunct Sheepshead Bay Race Track at Sheepshead Bay, New York. It was revived at the Jamaica Racetrack in 1959 but following the closure of that facility, the race was shifted to Aqueduct Racetrack which hosted it from 1960 through 1974 and again in 1976.

Since inception, the revised edition of the Sheepshead Bay race has been contested at various distances and on both dirt and turf surfaces:

• 1 mile : 1962 on dirt
• 1 ¹⁄₁₆ miles : 1959 on dirt
• 1 ¹⁄₁₆ miles : 1963-1964 on turf
• 1 mile, 1 furlong : 1960, 1961, 1976 on dirt
• 1 ³⁄₁₆ miles : 1965-1973 on turf
• 1 ³⁄₁₆ miles : 1974 on dirt
• 1 ¹⁄₄ miles : 1975, 1977-1979 on turf
• 1 ³⁄₈ miles : 1980-1989, 1991 to 2011
• 1 ³⁄₈ miles : 1990 on dirt
• 1 ¹⁄₈ miles: 2012 on turf

The Sheepshead Bay was run in two divisions in 1968, 1970, 1972, 1976 and 1982.

Records

Speed record: (at current distance of 1 ³⁄₈ miles on dirt)

• 2:11.57 - Maxzene (1997)

Most wins:

• 2 - Princess Pout (1970, 1971)
• 2 - Glowing Tribute (1976, 1977)
• 2 - Sabin (1983, 1984)
• 2 - Maxzene (1997, 1998)
• 2 - Honey Ryder (2006, 2007)

Most wins by an owner:

• 4 - Darby Dan Farm (Phillips/Galbreath) (1973, 1987, 1989, 1999)

Most wins by a jockey:

• 5 - Mike E. Smith (1991, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2004)

Most wins by a trainer:

• 4 - Woody Stephens (1974, 1979, 1983, 1984)
• 4 - Christophe Clement (1993, 2000, 2003, 2008)
• 4 - William I Mott (1991, 1995, 2010, 2014)

Winners

The Sheepshead Bay Handicap (1894-1910)

The original Sheepshead Bay Handicap was open to horses age three and older and was contested on dirt at a distance of one mile (8 furlongs). It was last run in June 1910 after the Republican controlled New York Legislature under Governor Charles Evans Hughes passed the Hart-Agnew anti-betting legislation on June 11, 1908. The owners of Sheepshead Bay Race Track, and other racing facilities in New York State, struggled to stay in business without betting.^[1] However, further restrictive legislation was passed by the New York Legislature in 1910 which resulted in the deepening of 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 facility and it never reopened.

Historical notes

Sir Walter finished third in the first two editions of the race when it was won by Don Alonzo in 1894^[2] and the following year by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Domino.^[3] In 1900, another future Hall of Fame inductee, Imp, finished third to longshot winner Greyfeld.^[4] A third future Hall of Fame inductee, the great filly Maskette, ran second to King James in the final edition in 1910.^[5]

Records

Speed record:

• 1:37.60 - Inquisitor (1906) & King James (1910)

Most wins:

• No horse won this race more than once.

Most wins by a jockey:

• 3 - Fred Taral (1895, 1896, 1898)
• 3 - Walter Miller (1905, 1906, 1908)

Most wins by an owner:

• No owner won this event more than once.

Winners

Notes

References

• Belmont Park official race records