Dolphin Stakes
The Dolphin Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run between 1887 and 1909 at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. Open to three-year-old horses, it was raced over a distance of 1 1/8 miles on dirt.[1]
| Discontinued stakes race | |
| Location | Sheepshead Bay Race Track, Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York, United States |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1887 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred – Flat racing |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Track | left-handed |
| Qualification | Three years old |
Historical notes
The inaugural edition of the Dolphin Stakes was won by Kingston who would finish his racing career with 89 wins, the most in the history of Thoroughbred racing. Kingston, his jockey, and his trainer all would have careers that led to induction in America's Racing Hall of Fame. [2]
In 1894 Henry of Navarre was another future Hall of Fame inductee that won the Dolphin Stakes. He came into the event having already won that year's Travers and Belmont Stakes.[3]
Beldame, a third Dolphin Stakes winner that would be inducted in the Hall of Fame, won the 1904 running.[4] For that year she would be named American Horse of the Year.[5]
The final edition of the Dolphin Stakes was won by Gliding Belle, a filly owned by William F. Schulte who had been an owner of Churchill Downs and served as president and CEO from 1895 to 1901.[6] Schulte was responsible for adding the now iconic twin spires to the Churchill Downs grandstand.[7]
The End of a Race and of a Racetrack
The 1908 passage of the Hart–Agnew anti-betting legislation by the New York Legislature under Republican Governor Charles Evans Hughes created havoc in the state's racing industry and would lead to a complete shutdown of racing in 1911 and 1912.[8][9] The owners of Sheepshead Bay Race Track, and other racing facilities in New York State, struggled to stay in business without income from betting.[10] Racetrack operators had no choice but to eliminate certain races and drastically reduce the purse money being paid out which resulted in the Dolphin Stakes not being run in 1908. Brought back in 1909 with a purse reduced to less than one-eighth of what it had been in earlier years. These small purses made horse racing unprofitable and impossible for even the most successful horse owners to continue in business.[11] A February 21, 1913 ruling by the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division saw horse racing return in 1913.[12] However, it was too late for the Sheepshead Bay horse racing facility and it never reopened.[13][14]
Records
Speed record:
- 1:53 flat @ 1 1/8 miles: Nealon (1906)
Most wins by a jockey:
- 2 – Jim McLaughlin (1998, 1888)
- 2 – Fred Taral (1891, 1893)
- 2 – Frank O'Neill (1904, 1905)
Most wins by a trainer:
- 2 – William Lakeland (1893, 1895, 1896)
Most wins by an owner:
- 2 – Byron McClelland (1892, 1894)
- 2 – James R. Keene (1893, 1895)
Winners
| Year |
Winner |
Age |
Jockey |
Trainer |
Owner |
Dist. (Miles) |
Time |
Win$ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 | Gliding Belle | 3 | Eddie Martin | Richard P. Brooks | William F. Schulte | 11⁄8 | 1:58.40 | $465 | |
| 1908 | Race not held | ||||||||
| 1907 | Montfort | 3 | Clifford D. Gilbert | Thomas J. Healey | Montpelier Stable | 11⁄8 | 1:57.00 | $3,350 | |
| 1906 | Nealon | 3 | Willie Dugan | Herman R. Brandt | Barney Schreiber | 11⁄8 | 1:53.00 | $3,475 | |
| 1905 | Water Light | 3 | Frank O'Neill | Matthew M. Allen | Diamond Jim Brady | 11⁄8 | 1:55.00 | $3,275 | |
| 1904 | Beldame | 3 | Frank O'Neill | Fred Burlew | Newton Bennington (Lessee) | 11⁄8 | 1:53.00 | $3,025 | |
| 1903 | Eugenia Burch | 3 | Grover Fuller | Jim McLaughlin | Libby Curtis | 11⁄8 | 1:56.40 | $2,250 | |
| 1902 | Igniter | 3 | Willie Shaw | Julius Bauer | Arthur Featherstone | 11⁄8 | 1:53.40 | $2,375 | |
| 1901 | Watercolor | 3 | Henry Spencer | Charles Littlefield Jr. | James B. A. Haggin | 11⁄8 | 1:53.40 | $1,710 | |
| 1900 | Lady Massey | 3 | John Slack | John E. Madden | John E. Madden | 11⁄8 | 1:54.80 | $1,690 | |
| 1899 | McLeod of Dare | 3 | Patrick A. McCue | Peter Wimmer | Augustus Eastin & Samuel E. Larabie | 11⁄8 | 1:57.00 | $1,380 | |
| 1898 | Floronso | 3 | Richard Clawson | Green B. Morris | Green B. Morris | 11⁄8 | 1:54.80 | $1,350 | |
| 1897 | Bernardillo | 3 | Skeets Martin | Albert Cooper | Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin | 11⁄8 | 1:56.80 | $1,450 | |
| 1896 | Goldcrest | 3 | Anthony Hamilton | William Lakeland | William Lakeland | 11⁄8 | 1:57.00 | $1,400 | |
| 1895 | Emma C. | 3 | Samuel Doggett | William Lakeland | James R. Keene | 11⁄8 | 1:56.40 | $1,400 | |
| 1894 | Henry of Navarre | 3 | Alonzo Clayton | Byron McClelland | Byron McClelland | 11⁄8 | 1:53.80 | $1,530 | |
| 1893 | St. Leonards | 3 | Fred Taral | William Lakeland | James R. Keene | 11⁄8 | 1:57.00 | $1,300 | |
| 1892 | Leonawell | 3 | Edward Garrison | Byron McClelland | Byron McClelland | 11⁄8 | 1:57.40 | $1,560 | |
| 1891 | La Tosca | 3 | Fred Taral | Frank M. Bray | Hough Brothers | 11⁄8 | 1:55.80 | $1,330 | |
| 1890 | Ruperta | 3 | Alonzo Allen | B. J. Johnson | 11⁄8 | 1:55.20 | $1,525 | ||
| 1889 | Buddhist | 3 | Marty Bergen | John W. Rogers | Samuel S. Brown | 11⁄8 | 1:56.20 | $1,885 | |
| 1888 | Judge Murray | 3 | Jim McLaughlin | George H. Kernaghan | 11⁄8 | 1:55.80 | $1,615 | ||
| 1887 | Kingston | 3 | Jim McLaughlin | Frank McCabe | Dwyer Brothers Stable | 11⁄8 | 1:55.50 | $1,440 | |
References
- "Running of the Dolphin Stakes". Daily Racing Form. 1909-09-03. Retrieved 2019-07-11 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
- "Racers at their Best". New York Times. 1887-09-06. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
- The Tribune Almanac and Political Register, The Tribune Almanac and Political Register, pages 231, 1895-01-01
- "Beldame Wins Dolphin Stakes". New York Times. 1904-08-31. p. 8. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
- The Bloodhorse.com Champion's history charts Archived September 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- "Churchill Downs Inc. Names New Chief Executive". The Courier-Journal. 2014-08-28. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
- "The History of Churchill Downs". Churchill Downs Incorporated. 2020-02-17. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
- "Penalties in the New York Bills". Daily Racing Form. 1908-01-18. Retrieved 2018-10-26 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
- "Race Track Bill Defeated In Senate; Measure Modifying Directors' Liability for Gambling Fails of Passage". The New York Times. July 14, 1911. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
- "Keep Up Betting Ban". New York Times. 1908-09-01. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
- "Coney Island Clubs Sturdy Stand". Daily Racing Form. 1908-08-11. Retrieved 2019-02-03 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
- "Oral Betting Held Legal: Appellate Division of New York Supreme Court Renders Important Decision". Daily Racing Form. 1913-02-22. Retrieved 2019-06-29 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
- "Destruction Wrought by Hughes". Daily Racing Form. 1908-12-15. Retrieved 2018-11-30 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
- "Famous Old Track is Sold". Daily Racing Form. 1914-11-17. Retrieved 2018-11-30 – via University of Kentucky Archives.