The Flight Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race first run in 1887 at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. A race for horses of either sex and of all ages, it was run on dirt over a distance of seven furlongs.[1]
| Discontinued stakes race | |
| Location | Sheepshead Bay Race Track Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York,United States |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1887–1909 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred – Flat racing |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 7 furlongs (7/8 mile) |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Track | left-handed |
| Qualification | All ages |
An annual event, the Flight Stakes was last run in September 1909 and was won by Jack Atkin.[2] After the Republican controlled New York Legislature under Governor Charles Evans Hughes passed the Hart–Agnew anti-betting legislation on June 11, 1908 with penalties allowing for fines and up to a year in prison.[3] The owners of Sheepshead Bay Race Track, and other racing facilities in New York State, struggled to stay in business without betting.[4] Racetrack operators had no choice but to drastically reduce the purse money being paid out which by 1909 saw the Flight Stakes offering a purse that was as little as one-fifth of what it had been in earlier years.[5] Further restrictive legislation was passed by the New York Legislature in 1910 which deepened 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 horse racing facility and it never reopened.
Records edit
Speed record: (at current distance of 1-1/16)
- 1:40.29 – Heatherten (1984) (new race and track record)
Most wins:
- 2 – Kingston (1890, 1892)
- 2 – Clifford (1894, 1896)
- 2 – Hamburg Belle (1904, 1905)
- 2 – Roseben (1906, 1907)
Most wins by a jockey:
- 2 – Fred Littlefield (1889, 1898)
- 2 – Fred Taral (1892, 1896)
- 2 – Henry Griffin (1894, 1895)
- 2 – Henry Spencer (1899, 1901)
- 2 – Lucien Lyne (1904, 1906)
Most wins by a trainer:
- 3 – A. Jack Joyner (1904, 1905, 1908)
Most wins by an owner:
- 2 – Michael F. Dwyer (1890, 1892)
- 2 – H. Eugene Leigh (1894, 1896)
- 2 – William C. Whitney (1902, 1903)
- 2 – Sydney Paget for J. B. A. Haggin (1904, 1905)
Winners edit
| Year |
Winner |
Age |
Jockey |
Trainer |
Owner |
Dist. (Miles) |
Time |
Win$ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 | Jack Atkin | 5 | James Butwell | John Powers | Barney Schreiber | 7 F | 1:26.00 | $1,050 |
| 1908 | Baby Wolf | 4 | Eddie Dugan | A. Jack Joyner | Harry P. Whitney | 7 F | 1:26.00 | $4,180 |
| 1907 | Roseben | 6 | Willie Knapp | Frank D. Weir | David C. Johnson | 7 F | 1:25.60 | $4,780 |
| 1906 | Roseben | 5 | Lucien Lyne | Frank D. Weir | Lucien O. Appleby | 7 F | 1:26.20 | $5,200 |
| 1905 | Hamburg Belle | 4 | Willie Davis | A. Jack Joyner | Sydney Paget † | 7 F | 1:25.00 | $4,985 |
| 1904 | Hamburg Belle | 3 | Lucien Lyne | A. Jack Joyner | Sydney Paget † | 7 F | 1:25.00 | $5,925 |
| 1903 | Leonora Loring | 4 | Arthur Redfern | John W. Rogers | William C. Whitney | 7 F | 1:25.20 | $3,600 |
| 1902 | Smoke | 5 | Tommy Burns | John E. Madden | William C. Whitney | 7 F | 1:29.60 | $3,750 |
| 1901 | Voter | 7 | Henry Spencer | James G. Rowe Sr. | James R. Keene | 7 F | 1:27.40 | $3,350 |
| 1900 | Heliobas | 4 | Winfield O'Connor | Edward L. Graves | Edward L. Graves | 7 F | 1:26.60 | $2,880 |
| 1899 | Bendoran | 4 | Henry Spencer | Walter B. Jennings | Walter B. Jennings | 7 F | 1:26.80 | $2,740 |
| 1898 | The Friar | 4 | Fred Littlefield | R. Wyndham Walden | A. H. & D. H. Morris | 7 F | 1:28.00 | $2,120 |
| 1897 | Requital | 4 | Alonzo Clayton | James G. Rowe Sr. | Lewis S. & William P. Thompson | 7 F | 1:26.60 | $1,875 |
| 1896 | Clifford | 6 | Fred Taral | H. Eugene Leigh | H. Eugene Leigh | 7 F | 1:29.20 | $1,875 |
| 1895 | Dorian | 4 | Henry Griffin | Byron McClelland | Blemton Stable | 7 F | 1:27.40 | $1,875 |
| 1894 | Clifford | 4 | Henry Griffin | H. Eugene Leigh | H. Eugene Leigh & Robert L. Rose | 7 F | 1:23.40 | $2,925 |
| 1893 | Dr. Hasbrouck | 5 | R. Harris | Henry Harris | William M. Barrick | 7 F | 1:29.60 | $3,350 |
| 1892 | Kingston | 8 | Fred Taral | Hardy Campbell Jr. | Michael F. Dwyer | 7 F | 1:26.60 | $2,525 |
| 1891 | Tenny | 5 | Shelby Barnes | William H. Karrick | David T. Pulsifer & W. H. Karrick | 7 F | 1:27.60 | $2,225 |
| 1890 | Kingston | 6 | W. Martin | Hardy Campbell Jr. | Michael F. Dwyer | 7 F | walkover | $3,175 |
| 1889 | Britannic | 5 | Fred Littlefield | R. Wyndham Walden | John A. Morris | 7 F | 1:26.60 | $3,250 |
| 1888 | Carroll | 2 | Freeman | Joe Cotton | 7 F | 1:28.20 | $2,175 | |
| 1887 | Stuyvesant | 3 | Edward Garrison | John W. Rogers | Samuel S. Brown | 7 F | 1:28.00 | $3,050 |
- † Hamburg Belle was always the property of James B. A. Haggin but as a convenience raced under the name of her manager, Sydney Paget.[6]
References edit
- ^ "Condensed History Of The Flight Stakes". Daily Racing Form. 1908-09-10. Retrieved 2018-10-30 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
- ^ "Jack Atkin Takes Flight". Daily Racing Form. 1909-09-12. Retrieved 2018-10-30 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
- ^ "Penalties in the New York Bills". Daily Racing Form. 1908-01-18. Retrieved 2018-10-26 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
- ^ "KEEP UP BETTING BAN.; Strict Enforcement of the Law at Sheepshead Bay Races". The New York Times. September 1908.
- ^ "Striking Falling off in Value of Ten Greatest Stakes". Daily Racing Form. 1910-07-16. Retrieved 2018-10-15 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
- ^ "The Racing of Fleet Hamburg Belle". Daily Racing Form. 1915-10-19. Retrieved 2018-10-29 – via University of Kentucky Archives.