Flight Stakes (United States)

Flight Stakes
Discontinued stakes race
LocationSheepshead Bay Race Track
Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York,United States
Inaugurated1887–1909
Race typeThoroughbred – Flat racing
Race information
Distance7 furlongs (7/8 mile)
SurfaceDirt
Trackleft-handed
QualificationAll ages

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]

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

Speed record: (at current distance of 1-1/16)

  • 1:40.29 – Heatherten (1984) (new race and track record)

Most wins:

Most wins by a jockey:

Most wins by a trainer:

Most wins by an owner:

Winners

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

  1. ^ "Condensed History Of The Flight Stakes". Daily Racing Form. 1908-09-10. Retrieved 2018-10-30 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
  2. ^ "Jack Atkin Takes Flight". Daily Racing Form. 1909-09-12. Retrieved 2018-10-30 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
  3. ^ "Penalties in the New York Bills". Daily Racing Form. 1908-01-18. Retrieved 2018-10-26 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
  4. ^ "KEEP UP BETTING BAN.; Strict Enforcement of the Law at Sheepshead Bay Races". The New York Times. September 1908.
  5. ^ "Striking Falling off in Value of Ten Greatest Stakes". Daily Racing Form. 1910-07-16. Retrieved 2018-10-15 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
  6. ^ "The Racing of Fleet Hamburg Belle". Daily Racing Form. 1915-10-19. Retrieved 2018-10-29 – via University of Kentucky Archives.