The Gotham Stakes is an American

Thoroughbred horse race Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

for three-year-old horses run in early March at Aqueduct Racetrack in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, New York. A Grade III event with a current purse of US$300,000, it is set at a distance of 1 mile on the dirt. It is part of the

Road to the Kentucky Derby The Road to the Kentucky Derby is a points system by which horses qualify for a position in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby. It features dozens of stakes races for 2 and 3-year-old Thoroughbreds – the number and specific races have chang ...

History

The race is named for New York City, which has been nicknamed Gotham since an 1807 article by

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...

. The event was inaugurated in 1953 at Jamaica Racetrack but following the facility's closure was moved to Aqueduct Racetrack for the 1960 season. In 1958, the race was restricted to horses four years of age and older. The Gotham Stakes is the final local prep to the

Wood Memorial Stakes The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. It is run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. The Wood Memorial ...

and an official prep race for the Kentucky Derby. The only Derby winner who competed in the Gotham was

American Triple Crown In the United States, the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, commonly known as the Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for three-year-old Thoroughbreds, consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. The three r ...

champion

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ame ...

, who tied the track record when winning the race in 1973.

Easy Goer Easy Goer (March 21, 1986 – May 12, 1994) was an American Champion Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse known for earning American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt honors in 1988 and defeating 1989 American Horse of the Year Sunday Silence in t ...

improved on this in 1989, setting a track record of 1:32.40 – one of the fastest times ever run in North America on the dirt. Since its inception, the Gotham has been competed at various distances: * 1 mile : 1960–1976, 1978, 1980–2002, 2004–2005, 2018–present * miles (8.5 furlongs) : 1953–1959, 1977, 1979, 2006–2017 * 1 mile, 70 yards : 1984, 2003 The race was run in two divisions in 1953, 1974, 1975, and 1983.

Records

Speed record: * 1:32.40 –

(1989) (Stakes and track record at 1 mile) * 1:42.65 – I Want Revenge (2009) (at former distance of miles) Most wins by a jockey: * 3 –

Jorge Velásquez Jorge Velásquez (born December 28, 1946 in Chepo, Panama) is a thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey. Jorge Velasquez's career in thoroughbred racing began in his native Panama but as a teenager moved to the United States. In 1967 he won ...

(1969, 1978, 1980) * 3 – Ángel Cordero Jr. (1970, 1975, 1991) * 3 –

Jacinto Vásquez Jacinto Vásquez (born January 4, 1944 in Panama) is a retired Hall of Fame thoroughbred jockey. He rode two Kentucky Derby winners, Foolish Pleasure in 1975 and the filly Genuine Risk in 1980. He was also the regular jockey for the champion fi ...

(1976, 1979, 1986) * 3 –

Richard Migliore Richard Migliore (born March 14, 1964 in Babylon, New York) is a retired American jockey. He now works as a racing analyst for XBTV. He was nicknamed "The Mig," which is a type of Russian fighter jet, for his tenacious style of riding. He lives ...

(1985, 2003, 2005) * 3 – Mike E. Smith (1990, 1992, 1995) Most wins by a trainer: * 3 – Claude R. McGaughey III (1989, 1992, 2005) * 3 –

Kiaran McLaughlin Kiaran P. McLaughlin (born November 15, 1960, in Lexington, Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer best known for training 2006 Horse of the Year Invasor. Background McLaughlin was born in an area of the country where horse r ...

(2006, 2018, 2019) Most wins by an owner: * 2 –

Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Cornelius "Sonny" Vanderbilt Whitney (February 20, 1899 – December 13, 1992) was an American businessman, film producer, government official, writer and philanthropist. He was also a polo player and the owner of a significant stable of Thorough ...

(1954, 1956) * 2 – Claiborne Farm (1969, 1992) * 2 – Locust Hill Farm (1983, 1988)

Winners

† In 1992 there was a

dead heat A dead heat is a rare situation in various racing sports in which the performances of competitors are judged to be so close that no difference between them can be resolved. The result is declared a tie and the competitors are awarded a joint ra ...

for first.

References

{{reflist 1953 establishments in New York City Horse races in New York City Aqueduct Racetrack Flat horse races for three-year-olds Triple Crown Prep Races Graded stakes races in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1953 Grade 3 stakes races in the United States