The Flying 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 from 1893 through 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 ...

Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn Sheepshead Bay is a neighborhood in southern Brooklyn, New York City. It is bounded by Ocean Parkway to the west; Avenue T and Kings Highway to the north; Nostrand Avenue and Gerritsen Avenue to the east; and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. ...

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 * ...

. A race for three-year-old horses of either sex, it was last run on dirt over a distance of

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to any of 660 foot (unit), feet, 220 yards, 40 rod (unit), rods, 10 chain (unit), chains, or a ...

Historical notes

Future Hall of Fame horses who won the Flying Handicap include

Domino Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also called '' pips'' or ''dots'' ...

in 1894 and

Broomstick A broom (also known 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. It is thus a ...

in 1904. Hall of Fame inductee George M. Odom won this race both as a jockey (1903) and as a trainer/owner (1909).

The 1911–1912 statewide shutdown of horse racing

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. In spite of strong opposition by prominent owners such as August Belmont, Jr. and

Harry Payne Whitney Harry Payne Whitney (April 29, 1872 – October 26, 1930) was an American businessman, thoroughbred horse breeding, horse breeder, and member of the prominent Whitney family. Early years Whitney was born in New York City on April 29, 1872, as ...

, reform legislators were not happy when they learned that betting was still going on at racetracks between individuals and they had further restrictive legislation passed by the New York Legislature in 1910 that made it possible for racetrack owners and members of its

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

to be fined and imprisoned if anyone was found betting, even privately, anywhere on their premises. 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. As a result, the Flying Handicap was not run in 1911 and 1912. 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 horses 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 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 ...

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

Records

Speed record: * 1:18.40 @ – Spooner (1908) * 1:12.80 @ – Dublin (1901) * 1:10.00 @ –

(1894) 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 ...

: * 2 – Fred Taral (1894, 1895) Most wins by a trainer: * 3 –

Sam Hildreth Samuel Clay Hildreth (May 16, 1866 – September 24, 1929) was an American Thoroughbred horse race, Thoroughbred horse racing National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame horse trainer, trainer and owner.Newcastle Stable The Newcastle Stable was a Thoroughbred racing partnership formed in 1903 by Life magazine publisher Andrew Miller, Blair Painter, Francis Cunningham Bishop, and trainer Thomas Welsh. Based in New York City, in January 1907 the partners leased th ...

(1903, 1906)

Winners

References

{{reflist Open sprint category horse races Discontinued horse races in New York City Sheepshead Bay Race Track Horse races established in 1893 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1909 1893 establishments in New York (state) 1909 disestablishments in New York (state)