Sapphire Stakes (United States)

The Sapphire Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run from 1887 through 1909 at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. A race for two-year-old horses of either sex, it was run on dirt over a distance of five and one-half furlongs.[1]

Sapphire Stakes
Discontinued stakes race
LocationSheepshead Bay Race Track, Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York, United States
Inaugurated1887
Race typeThoroughbred – Flat racing
Race information
Distance5.5 furlongs
SurfaceDirt
Trackleft-handed
QualificationTwo years old

Historical notes

The inaugural running of the Sapphire Stakes took which took place on September 1, 1887 was won by Geraldine.[2] Owned by Porter Ashe, ridden by Mike Kelly, and trained by Matthew Allen, Geraldine was described in a 1907 Daily Racing Form article as "one of the fastest sprinters of American turf history."[3] After another two years of racing, the same publication expanded their assessment of Geraldine to "one of the fleetest mares that ever raced in this country."[4]

Lady Navarre won the 1905 Sapphire Stakes and as a three-year-old continued to take on her male counterparts, winning the Tennessee Derby and finishing second to Sir Huon in the 1906 Kentucky Derby.[5][6]

The End of a Race and of a Racetrack

Passage of the Hart–Agnew anti-betting legislation by the New York Legislature under Republican Governor Charles Evans Hughes led to a compete shutdown of racing in 1911 and 1912 in the state.[7][8] A February 21, 1913 ruling by the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division saw horse racing return in 1913.[9] However, it was too late for the Sheepshead Bay horse racing facility and it never reopened.[10][11]

Records

Speed record:

  • 1:06 1/5 @ 5.5 furlongs : Agile (1904)

Most wins by a jockey:

Most wins by a trainer:

Most wins by an owner:

Winners
Year
 Winner
 Age
 Jockey
 Trainer
 Owner
 Dist.
(Furlongs)		 Time
 Win$
1909 Pretend 2 Eddie Dugan Thomas Welsh Thomas Monahan 5.5 F 1:07.20 $1,050
1908 Perseus 2 Eddie Dugan A. Jack Joyner Harry Payne Whitney 5.5 F 1:06.40 $1,050
1907 Meelick 2 Eddie Dugan John E. Madden John E. Madden 5.5 F 1:06.60 $3,025
1906 W. H. Daniel 2 Joshua Jones Henry E. McDaniel Edmund S. Burke Jr. 5.5 F 1:06.60 $3,175
1905 Lady Navarre 2 Tommy Burns George P. Brazier Charles R. Ellison 5.5 F 1:09.00 $3,625
1904 Agile 2 Tommy Burns Robert Tucker Samuel S. Brown 5.5 F 1:06.20 $3,425
1903 Luxembourg 2 Gray Anthony L. Aste Anthony L. Aste 5.5 F 1:07.00 $2,710
1902 Clarion 2 Winfield O'Connor James G. Rowe Sr. James R. Keene 5.5 F 1:06.40 $3,170
1901 Pretorius 2 Tommy Burns John W. Rogers William Collins Whitney 5.5 F 1:08.00 $2,470
1900 Conroy 2 Henry Spencer James G. Rowe Sr. James R. & Foxhall P. Keene 5.5 F 1:06.60 $2,250
1899 Gulden 2 George M. Odom John E. Madden John E. Madden 5.5 F 1:08.40 $2,440
1898 Ways and Means 2 Danny Maher Byron McClelland Mrs. Byron McClelland 5.5 F 1:10.00 $1,990
1897 The Huguenot 2 Willie Martin James G. Rowe Sr. William P. Thompson & Lewis S. Thompson 5.5 F 1:08.00 $1,430
1896 The Friar † 2 Fred Littlefield R. Wyndham Walden Alfred H. & Dave H. Morris 5.5 F 1:07.80 $1,425
1895 Kamsin 2 Henry Griffin Louis H. Ezell Louis H. Ezell 5.5 F 1:08.40 $1,630
1894 Dolabra 2 Anthony Hamilton John Huggins Pierre Lorillard IV 5.5 F 1:08.40 $2,010
1893 Longdale 2 John Lamley John S. Campbell Jacob Ruppert Jr. 5.5 F 1:08.80 $1,725
1892 Bellegarde 2 Willie Simms James G. Rowe Sr. Blemton Stable 5.5 F 1:09.00 $1,935
1891 King Cadmus 2 Fred Taral William C. Smith George E. Smith 5.5 F 1:09.40 $2,030
1890 Gascon 2 Monk Overton John H. Morris Bashford Manor Stable 5.5 F 1:10.00 $2,370
1889 Magnate 2 George Anderson James G. Rowe Sr. August Belmont Sr. 5.5 F 1:09.20 $2,415
1888 Sluggard 2 George Taylor Barney Riley David D. Withers 6 F 1:14.40 $1,805
1887 Geraldine 2 Mike Kelly Matthew M.Allen Maltese Villa Stable (R. Porter Ashe) 6 F 1:15.00 $2,000
  • † George Rose finished first in the 1896 running but was disqualified.

References
  1. "Pretend Earns a Clever Victory in the Sapphire Stakes, the Feature Race at Sheepshead Bay". New York Times, page 11. 1909-09-08. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
  2. "Racing at Sheepshead Bay – Third Race The Sapphire stakes". Indianapolis Journal. 1887-09-02. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
  3. "Condensed History of the Sapphire Stakes". Daily Racing Form. 1907-09-08. Retrieved 2019-11-06 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
  4. "Running of the Sapphire Stakes". Daily Racing Form. 1909-09-07. Retrieved 2019-11-06 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
  5. "Lady Navarre's Tennessee Derby". New York Times. 1906-04-25. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
  6. "1906 Kentucky Derby Results Tables" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-14. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
  7. "Penalties in the New York Bills". Daily Racing Form. 1908-01-18. Retrieved 2018-10-26 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
  8. "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.
  9. "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.
  10. "Destruction Wrought by Hughes". Daily Racing Form. 1908-12-15. Retrieved 2018-11-30 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
  11. "Famous Old Track is Sold". Daily Racing Form. 1914-11-17. Retrieved 2018-11-30 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
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