The Commonwealth Handicap was 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 ...

run annually from 1903 through 1910 at

Sheepshead Bay Race Track Sheepshead Bay Race Track was an American Thoroughbred horse racing facility built on the site of the Coney Island Jockey Club at Sheepshead Bay, New York. Early history The racetrack was built by a group of prominent businessmen from the New Yo ...

Sheepshead Bay Sheepshead, Sheephead, or Sheep's Head, may refer to: Fish * '' Archosargus probatocephalus'', a medium-sized saltwater fish of the Atlantic Ocean * Freshwater drum, ''Aplodinotus grunniens'', a medium-sized freshwater fish of North and Central ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Open to horses age three and older, it was run on dirt over a distance of 1¼ miles on dirt. It was raced in its first year as the "Suburban Renewal Handicap" having been created as a sequel to

Suburban Handicap The Suburban Stakes is an American Grade II Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is now run at the mile distance on dirt for a $700,000 purse. Named after the City and Su ...

, the most important race in New York at the time for horses aged three and older. In a July 1, 1906 review of upcoming races, the ''

Daily Racing Form The ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) (referred to as the ''Racing Form'' or "Form" and sometimes "telegraph" or "telly") is a tabloid newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois, by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of raceho ...

'' referred to the Commonwealth Handicap as a "highly important" race.

Historical notes

Waterboy In the United States, a water boy or water girl (sometimes spelled waterboy or watergirl) was someone who worked in the field, providing water to farm workers in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, the name is given to those who work on the ...

won the 1903 inaugural edition and would go on to retrospectively be named that year's

American Champion Older Male Horse The title of American Champion Older Dirt Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a stallion or gelding, four years old and up, for performances on dirt and main track racing surfaces. In 1971, it became part o ...

. In the next two years Ort Wells and then

Sysonby Sysonby (1902–1906) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He won every start easily, except one, at distances from one mile to two and a quarter miles. His superiority as a two and three-year-old was unchallenged during his short career of 1 ...

would similarly be named the

American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse The American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both ''Turf & Spo ...

for the year of their win. The 1906 winner

Sir Huon Sir Huon (foaled 1903 in Kentucky) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that was the winner of the 1906 Kentucky Derby and Latonia Derby. Sir Huon was named after a character in the German opera Oberon and was bred at George J. Long's stud farm ...

came into the Commonwealth Handicap as the victor in the May 2

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-yea ...

. However, New York racing fans thought little of the "western" horse and sent him off as a 15-1 longshot Sir Huron then showed it was no fluke and won the

Seagate Stakes The Seagate Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually from 1899 through 1907 at New York's Brighton Beach Race Course then for a final time in 1910 with a drastically reduced purse at Empire City Race Track in Yonkers, New Yor ...

Brighton Beach Race Course The Brighton Beach Race Course was an American Thoroughbred horse racing facility in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York, opened on June 28, 1879 by the Brighton Beach Racing Association. Headed by real estate developer William A. Engeman, who owne ...

. In winning the 1910 and last running of the Commonwealth Handicap, Richard Wilson Jr.'s speedy

Olambala Olambala (1906–1935) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Background Olambala was bred in Tennessee by John G. Greener. He was sired by the British-born sire Ornus, a son of Bend Or, a two-time leading broodmare sire in Great Britain & Irel ...

equaled the American record for a mile and one-quarter set by

Broomstick A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. I ...

six years earlier.

Closing

The race had a short existence as a result of the Hart–Agnew anti-betting legislation passed by the

New York Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official te ...

which devastated horse racing. For its first six years the winner's share of the purse for the Commonwealth Handicap averaged more than $12,000 but for its final two runnings in 1909 and 1910 the winner's share was reduced to less than 20% of what it had been. When a February 21, 1913 ruling by the

New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division The Appellate Divisions of the Supreme Court of the State of New York are the intermediate appellate courts in New York State. There are four Appellate Divisions, one in each of the state's four Judicial Departments (e.g., the full title of the ...

saw horse racing return it was too late for the Sheepshead Bay horse racing facility and it never reopened.

Records

Speed record: * 2:02 4/5 @ 1 miles :

(1910) (equaled American record) Most wins: * No horse won this race more than once. Most wins by a jockey: * No jockey won this race more than once. Most wins by a trainer: * 2 –

A. Jack Joyner Andrew Jackson "Jack" Joyner (August 4, 1861 – September 1, 1943) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame trainer and owner. Known as "Jack" and reported as "A.J." and "A. Jack", Joyner was born in Enfield, North Carolina, the ...

(1903, 1908) Most wins by an owner: * No owner won this race more than once.

Winners

References

{{reflist Open middle distance horse races Discontinued horse races in New York City Recurring sporting events established in 1903 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1911 Sheepshead Bay Race Track