The First Special 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 between 1886 and 1909 at

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 ...

, on

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 ...

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

. The race was run on dirt at a distance of one and one-quarter miles and was open to horses of either sex age three and older since 1887.

Historical notes

The 1886 inaugural running was for three-year-olds only and the one time it was raced at one and one-half miles. There were just two horses participating in the 1886 race won by Dewdrop who beat that year's Kentucky Derby winner

Ben Ali Ben Ali may refer to: People * Ben Ali (businessman) (1927–2009), founder of the restaurant Ben's Chili Bowl in Washington, DC, USA * Habib Ben Ali (1941–1996), Tunisian criminal * Ibrahim Ben Ali (1756–1800), soldier and physician who was ...

. In 1887, the race marked the beginning of an important event for older horses with the First Special Stakes attracting the top horses to such an extent that 14 of the 24 editions of the race were won by

Champions A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world championships, and ...

Fair Play Fair play or Fairplay usually refers to sportsmanship. Fair play or Fairplay may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Fair Play'' (1925 film), an American silent film * ''Fair Play'', a 1972 TV movie starring Paul Ford * ''Fair Play'' (20 ...

, one of the non-champions who is best known today as the sire of

Man o' War Man o' War was a thoroughbred racehorse considered an all-time great. Man o' War (or capitalization variations thereof) may also refer to: Animals * Portuguese man o' war, a floating marine animal found in the Atlantic that resembles a jellyfish ...

, won the 1908 running in track record time.

Demise of the First Special Stakes

After years of uncertainty, on June 11, 1908, the Republican controlled

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 offici ...

under

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Charles Evans Hughes Charles Evans Hughes (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American politician, academic, and jurist who served as the 11th chief justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

passed the Hart–Agnew anti-betting legislation with penalties allowing for fines and up to a year in prison. The owners of Gravesend Race Track, and other racing facilities in

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

, struggled to stay in business without income from betting. Racetrack operators had no choice but to drastically reduce the

purse money Prize money refers in particular to naval prize money, usually arising in naval warfare, but also in other circumstances. It was a monetary reward paid in accordance with the prize law of a belligerent state to the crew of a ship belonging to t ...

being paid out which resulted in the cancellation of the

Second Special Stakes The Second Special Stakes was a Thoroughbred horse race run between 1886 and 1907 at Gravesend Race Track in Gravesend, on Coney Island, New York. The race was run on dirt at a distance of one and one half miles in its last nine runnings and was o ...

after 1907 so that limited funds could be used to maintain the purses offered for other high-profile races. Nonetheless for 1908 and 1909 the purse for the First Special Stakes was well less than half of what it had been. Further restrictive legislation was passed by the New York Legislature in 1910 which deepened the financial crisis for track operators and led to a complete shut down of racing across the state during 1911 and 1912. After a 1911 amendment to the law to limit the liability of owners and directors was defeated, every racetrack in New York State shut down. Owners, whose horses of racing age had nowhere to go, began sending them, their trainers and their jockeys to race in England and France. Many ended their racing careers there, and a number remained to become an important part of the European

horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given Horse breed, breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired chara ...

industry. ''

Thoroughbred Times The Thoroughbred is a horse breed developed for horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are considered " ...

'' reported that more than 1,500 American horses were sent overseas between 1908 and 1913 and that of them, at least 24 were either past, present, or future Champions. When 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 ...

ruling saw horse racing return in 1913 it was too late for the Gravesend horse racing facility never reopened.

Records

Speed record: * 1 1/4 miles : 2:03.40 -

(1908) Most wins: * 3 -

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, ...

(1888, 1889, 1890) 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 -

Isaac Burns Murphy Isaac Burns Murphy (January 6, 1861 – February 16, 1896) was an American Hall of Fame jockey, considered one of the greatest riders in American Thoroughbred horse racing history. He won three runnings of the Kentucky Derby and was the first joc ...

(1887, 1888, 1889) &

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 ...

(1892, 1894, 1897) Most wins by a trainer: * 3 - Frank McCabe (1886, 1888, 1889) & Hardy Campbell Jr. (1890, 1894, 1897) Most wins by an owner: * 6 -

Dwyer Brothers Stable Dwyer Brothers Stable was an American thoroughbred horse racing operation owned by Brooklyn businessmen Phil and Mike Dwyer. The Dwyer brothers hired trainer Evert Snedecker and purchased their first Thoroughbred, Rhadamanthus, in 1874. In Oc ...

Michael F. Dwyer Michael F. Dwyer (1847–1906) was an American businessman and prominent owner of Thoroughbred racehorses and racetracks from Brooklyn, New York. He and older brother Philip made a fortune in the meat packing industry, supplying butcher shop ...

(1886, 1888, 1889, 1890, 1894, 1897)

Winners

Ŧ denotes a Champion.

References

{{reflist Open middle distance horse races Open mile category horse races Discontinued horse races in New York City Gravesend Race Track Horse races established in 1886 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1909 1886 establishments in New York (state) 1909 disestablishments in New York (state)