The Equality Stakes 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 1902 thru 1909 at

Sheepshead Bay Race Track The Sheepshead Bay Race Track was an American thoroughbred horse race, Thoroughbred horse racing facility built on the site of the Coney Island Jockey Club at Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, New York. Early history The racetrack was built by a grou ...

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. Open to horses age three and older, it was raced over a distance of one mile on dirt.

Historical notes

The inaugural running of the Equality Stakes produced 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 ...

between Dublin and Highlander. The three-year-old

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Dolly Spanker won the 1904 edition of the Equality Stakes as part of a long and successful career winning on both dirt and turf. A popular runner, the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called Dolly Spanker "one of the best-know flat racers in the country" and had been "one of the best handicap horses on the Metropolitan tracks." The 1908 Equality stakes was won by James R. Keene's

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who would be named

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 of ...

for that year and again in 1910.

The End of a Race and of a Racetrack

Passage of the Hart–Agnew anti-betting legislation by the

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under Republican

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led to a compete shutdown of racing in 1911 and 1912 in the state. A February 21, 1913 ruling by the

New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York is the intermediate appellate court in New York State. The state is geographically divided into four judicial departments of the Appellate Division. The full title of each is, u ...

saw horse racing return in 1913. However, it was too late for the Sheepshead Bay horse racing facility and it never reopened.

Records

Speed record: * 1:38 flat @ 1 mile : Dolly Spanker (1904) Most wins: * 2 – Hamburg Belle (1905, 1906) 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 ...

: * No jockey ever won this race more than once. Most wins by a trainer: * 2 – T. J. Healey (1902, 1904) * 2 – A. Jack Joyner (1905, 1906) Most wins by an owner: * 2 – Richard T. Wilson Jr. (1902, 1904) * 2 – Sydney Paget (1905, 1906)

Winners

* * Dead heat for first in 1902. * † 1907 raced in fog, no time taken.

References

{{reflist Open mile category horse races Discontinued horse races in New York City Sheepshead Bay Race Track Horse races established in 1902 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1909