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Reapers Stakes
Discontinued stakes race
Location	Sheepshead Bay Race Track; Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York
Inaugurated	1887–1907
Race type	Thoroughbred – Flat racing
Race information
Distance	1+3⁄16 miles (9.5 furlongs)
Surface	Dirt
Track	left-handed
Qualification	Three-years-old

The Reapers Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Held in September, the race was open to three-year-olds of either sex. It was run on dirt over a distance of 1 3/16 miles except for 1903 when it was set at 1 3/8 miles.^[1]

On June 19, 1880 the Sheepshead Bay facility hosted its first day of Thoroughbred racing.^[2] Success made the addition of more stakes races possible and in 1887 the Reapers Stakes had its inaugural running. That race was won by Belvidere, a colt owned by the Preakness Stables of James Galway, a successful wholesaler of grocery store products and a Steward of The Jockey Club. The final running took place in 1907 and was won by the 20:1 outsider, Blue Book.^[3]

Demise of the Reapers Stakes

After years of uncertainty, on June 11, 1908 the Republican controlled New York Legislature under Governor Charles Evans Hughes passed the Hart–Agnew anti-betting legislation with penalties allowing for fines and up to a year in prison.^[4] The owners of Sheepshead Bay Race Track, and other racing facilities in New York State, struggled to stay in business without income from betting.^[5] Racetrack operators had no choice but to drastically reduce the purse money being paid out which resulted in the Reapers Stakes being dropped from the 1908 schedule to enable a redistribution of funds to the most high-profile races.^[6] 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: (new track record)

1:59.40 – Heno (1902)

Most wins by a jockey:

3 – Fred Taral (1891, 1896, 1898)

Most wins by a trainer:

2 – John W. Rogers (1889, 1894)
2 – Charles Littlefield Sr. (1898, 1901)

Most wins by an owner:

2 – Preakness Stables (1887, 1897)
2 – Rancocas Stable (1892, 1900)
2 – Charles Littlefield Sr. (1898, 1901)

Winners

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Dist. (Miles)	Time	Win$
1907	Blue Book	3	R. Lowe	Stephen J. Lawler	James F. Carroll	13⁄16 M	2:05.00	$3,375
1906	Entrée	3	Herman Radtke	Thomas H. McCreery	Frederick A. Johnson	13⁄16 M	2:00.60	$3,475
1905	Coy Maid	3	Willie Knapp	John I. Smith	Kenilworth Stable (Frederick C. McLewee)	13⁄16 M	2:01.60	$3,275
1904	Aurumaster	3	William Crimmins	Matthew Feakes	H. J. Morris	13⁄16 M	2:00.00	$3,025
1903	Eugenia Burch	3	Grover Fuller	William C. Smith	Libby Curtis	13⁄8 M	2:20.80	$2,100
1902	Heno	3	Harry Michaels	William Lakeland Sr.	William S. Fanshawe	13⁄16 M	1:59.40	$2,300
1901	Watercolor	3	Henry Spencer	Charles Littlefield Sr.	Charles Littlefield Sr.	13⁄16 M	1:59.80	$1,720
1900	David Garrick	3	John Bullman	A. Jack Joyner	Rancocas Stable	13⁄16 M	2:00.40	$1,580
1899	Kinley Mack	3	Patrick McCue	Peter Wimmer	Augustus Eastin & Samuel E. Larabie	13⁄16 M	2:02.40	$1,280
1898	Latson	3	Fred Taral	Charles Littlefield Sr.	Charles Littlefield Sr.	13⁄16 M	2:04.00	$1,070
1897	Imperator	3	Charles A. Thorpe	Edward Feakes	Preakness Stables	13⁄16 M	2:03.20	$1,450
1896	Peep o'Day	3	Fred Taral	James H. McCormick	James H. McCormick	13⁄16 M	2:06.60	$1,400
1895	Flying Dutchman	3	Jerry Chorn	Patrick Dunne	Patrick Dunne	13⁄16 M	2:02.00	$1,400
1894	Dorian	3	Willie Simms	John W. Rogers	John W. Rogers	13⁄16 M	2:01.40	$1,480
1893	Sir Francis	3	Edward Garrison	Matthew Byrnes	Marcus Daly	13⁄16 M	2:02.00	$1,215
1892	Kilkenny	3	Anthony Hamilton	John Huggins	Rancocas Stable	13⁄16 M	2:03.20	$1,605
1891	La Tosca	3	Fred Taral	Frank M. Bray	Schuylkill Stable (Hough Brothers)	13⁄16 M	2:03.00	$1,545
1890	Ruperta	3	Alonzo Allen		B. J. Johnson	13⁄16 M	2:02.40	$1,425
1889	Buddhist	3	Marty Bergen	John W. Rogers	Samuel S. Brown	13⁄16 M	2:08.40	$1,720
1888	My Own	3	Rifleshine	R. Wyndham Walden	R. Wyndham Walden	13⁄16 M	2:04.20	$1,600
1887	Belvidere	3	Jim McLaughlin		Preakness Stables	13⁄16 M	2:03.00	$1,340

References

^ "Condensed History of the Reapers Stakes". Daily Racing Form. 1907-09-05. Retrieved 2018-12-21 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
^ "Coney Island Jockey Club; Programme for the September Meeting". The New York Times. September 3, 1879. p. 3. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
^ "Blue Book; 20 To 1, Wins The Reapers". Daily Racing Form. 1907-09-06. Retrieved 2018-12-22 – 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". New York Times. 1908-09-01. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
^ "Striking Falling off in Value of Ten Greatest Stakes". Daily Racing Form. 1910-07-16. Retrieved 2018-10-15 – via University of Kentucky Archives.