Dwyer Brothers Stable was an American

thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and Horse industry, industry involving the Horse racing, 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 know ...

operation owned by

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

businessmen

Phil Phil may refer to: * Phil (given name), a shortened version of masculine and feminine names * Phill, a given name also spelled "Phil" * Phil, Kentucky, United States * Phil (film), ''Phil'' (film), a 2019 film * -phil-, a lexical fragment, used as ...

and Mike Dwyer. The Dwyer brothers hired trainer Evert Snedecker and purchased their first Thoroughbred, Rhadamanthus, in 1874. In October of that same year they acquired

Vigil A vigil, from the Latin meaning 'wakefulness' ( Greek: , or ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word has become generalized in this sense and means 'eve' (as in "on t ...

from Col. David McDaniel who to that point had earned $5630. In the ensuing few months of 1876 the colt won another $20,160 and was chosen that year's retrospective

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 ''Turf & Sports Di ...

. Other trainers who worked for the Dwyers were

James G. Rowe Sr. James Gordon Rowe Sr. (1857 – August 2, 1929) was an American jockey and horse trainer elected to the Hall of Fame for Thoroughbred Horse racing. He won the Belmont Stakes twice as a jockey and 8 times as a trainer. He had 34 champion horses t ...

and Frank McCabe. The Dwyers won the 1881

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

with future U.S. Hall of Fame colt Hindoo and finished second with

Runnymede Runnymede is a water-meadow alongside the River Thames in the English county of Surrey, bordering Berkshire and just over west of central London. It is notable for its association with the sealing of Magna Carta, and as a consequence is, with ...

the following year. However, they had their greatest racing success in the

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over the worldwide classic distance of . Colt (horseracing), Colt ...

in their hometown, winning the classic event five times. One of the few major races at tracks in the New York/New Jersey area that they never won was the

Brooklyn Handicap The Brooklyn Stakes (formerly known as the Brooklyn Handicap) is an American Thoroughbred horse race run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, on Long Island. It currently is a Grade II event open to four-year-olds and up willing to race one and ...

. The brothers, either together or individually, owned a number of prominent horses, including Hindoo,

Bramble ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, most commonly known as brambles. Fruits of various species are known as raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, and bristleberries. I ...

, Bella B., Luke Blackburn,

Bonnie Scotland ''Bonnie Scotland'' is a 1935 American film directed by James W. Horne and starring Laurel and Hardy. It was produced by Hal Roach for Hal Roach Studios. Although the film begins in Scotland, a large part of the action is set in British India ...

George Kinney George Kinney was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1883 Belmont Stakes. Background George Kinney was bred in Tennessee by Captain James Franklin at Kennesaw Stud. His dam was Kathleen, a daughter of the great sire ...

Miss Woodford Miss Woodford (1880–1899) was a champion American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who was one of the top American fillies of all time, winning 16 consecutive races. Background Miss Woodford was bred in Kentucky by the Runnymede Farm#Ezekie ...

Barnes Barnes may refer to: People *Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name) Places United Kingdom * Barnes, London, England ** Barnes railway station **Barnes Bridge railway station ** Barnes High Stree ...

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, Raceland, Tremont,

Ben Brush Ben Brush (1893–1918) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1896 Kentucky Derby. Background Ben Brush was a bay stallion sired by Bramble (the 1879 champion handicap horse) out of Roseville (a sister to Azra, the 1892 ...

, and Cleophus. Mike Dwyer was a partner in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. In 1886 they were a key part of the group of investors who formed the Brooklyn Jockey Club and built the

Gravesend Race Track Gravesend Race Track was a Thoroughbred horse race, Thoroughbred horse racing facility in the Gravesend, Brooklyn, Gravesend neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, that opened in 1886 and closed in 1910. The track was built by the Brooklyn Jockey C ...

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

Coney Island Coney Island is a neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to the south and west, and Gravesend to ...

. The brothers racing partnership was dissolved in 1890 and Mike Dwyer went on to enjoy further success. He won the Kentucky Derby for the second time in 1896 with

, ridden by jockey

Willie Simms Willie Simms (January 16, 1870 – February 26, 1927) was an American National Champion jockey in Thoroughbred racing and a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee who won five of the races that would become the U.S. Triple Crown series. An Africa ...

. The Brooklyn Derby, founded in 1887, was renamed the

Dwyer Stakes The Dwyer Stakes is an American Grade III stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred racehorses held annually at Belmont Park racetrack in Elmont, Long Island, New York. Run in early July, it is open to three-year-old horses and is raced over ...

in their honor in 1918.

Dwyer Brothers U.S. Champions (retrospective)

* Horse of the Year: Hanover (1887) * Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse: Tremont (1886) * Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse: Vigil (1876), Hindoo (1881), Runnymede (1882), Inspector B. (1886), Hanover (1887), Sir Dixon (1888) * Champion Three-Year-Old Filly: Bella B. (1888) * Champion Older Male Horse: Kingston (1889)

Dwyer Brothers Stable major race wins

Kentucky Derby

*1881 : Hindoo *1896 :

Preakness Stakes

*1899 :

Half Time In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...

Belmont Stakes

*1883 :

*1884 : Panique *1886 : Inspector B *1887 :

*1888 :

Sir Dixon Sir Dixon (1885–1909) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse best known for winning the 1888 Belmont Stakes. Background Sir Dixon was bred by Ezekiel F. Clay and Catesby Woodford at Runnymede Farm in Kentucky. His sire was Bill ...

Travers Stakes

*1881 : Hindoo *1883 :

*1886 : Inspector B. *1888 : Sir Dixon *1890 : Sir John

References

{{coord, 40.581, -73.997, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-NY, display=title American companies established in 1876 American companies disestablished in 1890 American racehorse owners and breeders Owners of Kentucky Derby winners Owners of Preakness Stakes winners Owners of Belmont Stakes winners Companies based in Brooklyn Horse farms in the United States 1876 establishments in New York (state) 1890 disestablishments in New York (state)