The Bowling Green Stakes is a

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

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 horses age four years old and older over a distance of miles on the

turf Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses. In British and Australian English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', ...

held annually in late July at Saratoga Race Course in

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the ...

History

The inaugural running of the event was on 11 June 1958 at

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United Stat ...

as the sixth event on the card that day and was won by the French bred horse, Rafty trained by the US Hall of Fame trainer Hollie Hughes in a time of 2:17. The event is named for the area on the lower tip of

Manhattan Island Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...

, known as

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

. In 1963 the event was moved to Aqueduct Racecourse and the distance was increased to 13 furlongs ( miles). The last running of the event at Aqueduct in 1967 is one of the more notable when Poker defeated champions

Assagai Assagai was an Afro-rock band, active in the early 1970s in London, whose relatively short career produced two albums recorded in 1971. It has been described as "the second best-known African group of the late 60s/early 70s in Britain" after Osi ...

and his own stablemate, the 1966 US Horse of the Year,

Buckpasser Buckpasser (1963– March 6, 1978) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a ...

who was entering the race with a fifteen race winning streak. The 1970 winner Fort Marcy would later that year be crowned US Horse of the Year and the 1972 winner Run the Gantlet was the 1971 US Champion Male Turf Horse. In 1973 the event was classified as

and for several years in the late 1980s the event held Grade I status. In winning the Bowling Green Handicap on 17 June 1990 at

, the 1989 Canadian champion With Approval set a new

World Record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

of 2:10 for miles on

. As of today, the record remains unmatched. The 2008 edition was replaced in its summer spot by the Man o' War Stakes. The Man o' War was moved from a fall schedule to improve turf scheduling competition. In 2015 the

New York Racing Association The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) is the not-for-profit corporation that operates the three largest thoroughbred horse racing tracks in the state of New York (state), New York, United States: Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Q ...

moved the Bowling Green to Saratoga. Two mares have won this race, Drumtop in 1971 setting a new course record for the miles distance and Summer Guest in 1973. Drumtop also finished second to Fort Marcy in 1970. In 2024 the British-bred Silver Knott set a new track record at Saratoga Racetrack for the miles distance winning in 2:11.40 on the inner turf course.

Records

Speed record: * miles: 2:10.20 – With Approval (1990) (new World Record) Margins: * 4 lengths – Open Call (1982) Most wins: * 2 – Whitmore's Conn (2002, 2003) * 2 – Channel Maker (2018, 2023) * 2 – Cross Border (2020, 2021) Most wins by an owner: * 4 – Rokeby Stables (1970, 1972, 1973, 1984) Most wins by a

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

: * 3 – Jorge Velásquez (1969, 1970, 1982) * 3 – Jerry Bailey (1984, 1991, 2001) * 3 – John Velazquez (1994, 1998, 2012) * 3 –

Javier Castellano Javier Castellano (born October 23, 1977) is a Venezuelan jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. Castellano won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey four times in a row from 2013 to 2016. In 2023 he won two legs of the American Tripl ...

(2013, 2015, 2016) Most wins by a trainer: * 5 – William I. Mott (1987, 2001, 2010, 2018, 2023)

Winners

''Notes:''
† Filly or Mare
§ Ran as part of an entry
‡ In the 2020 running Sadler's Joy was first past the post but was disqualified for interference in the straight and was placed fourth. Cross Border was declared the winner.

External links

Video at YouTube of With Approval setting a new World Record in winning the 1990 Bowling Green Handicap

References

{{reflist, 2 Graded stakes races in the United States Grade 2 stakes races in the United States Open middle distance horse races Horse races in New York (state) Turf races in the United States Horse races established in 1958 1958 establishments in New York (state) Saratoga Race Course

History

Records

Winners

See also

External links

References