Poker Stakes

The Poker Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in mid June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. A Grade III event open to horses age four and older, it is raced on turf at a distance of one mile (8 furlongs).

The inaugural running of the 1985 Poker Handicap was contested at a distance of a mile and a sixteenth and at a mile and a quarter the following year.

Records

Speed record:

• 1:31.63 - Elusive Quality (1998)
  (New stakes and course record for one mile and believed to be a world record at the time.)

Most wins:

• 2 - Fourstardave (1989, 1993)
• 2 - Affirmed Success (2000, 2001)
• 2 - King Kreesa (2013, 2015)

Most wins by an owner:

• 2 - Harbor View Farm (1985, 1995)
• 2 - Richard M. Bomze (1989, 1993)
• 2 - Albert Fried, Jr. (2000, 2001)
• 2 - Juddmonte Farms (2003, 2007)
• 2 - IEAH Stables (2006, 2008)

Most wins by a jockey:

• 3 - Jose Santos (1987, 1988, 1989)
• 3 - Jerry Bailey (1991, 1998, 2001)
• 3 - Jorge Chavez (1994, 1999, 2000)
• 3 - Jose Lezcano (2011, 2012, 2016)

Most wins by a trainer:

• 2 - Angel Penna, Jr. (1997, 2005)
• 2 - Richard Schosberg (2000, 2001)
• 2 - Robert J. Frankel (2003, 2007)
• 2 - Richard E. Dutrow, Jr. (2006, 2008)

Winners

References

• The 2009 Poker Stakes at the NTRA