The Knickerbocker Stakes is an American Grade III race on

turf Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses. In British and Australian English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', ...

for

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

horses run each year at

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United Stat ...

Elmont, New York Elmont is an unincorporated Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in northwestern Hempstead, New York, Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York, United States, along its border with the borough ...

. The Knickerbocker is open to three-year-olds and up, and set at a distance of miles (nine

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 ...

s). Run in mid October, it currently offers a purse of $200,000.Knickerbocker Stakes history at the NYRA
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Graded status

* Grade 2: 1998–2004, 2017–present * Grade 3: 1973–1997, 2005–2016

Historical notes

The Knickerbocker is named for a fictional character, Diedrich Knickerbocker, from

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...

's ''Knickerbocker History of New York''– a spoof on the imagined colony of New Netherland. The race was originally run as the Knickerbocker Handicap at

Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park, Queens, South Ozone Park and Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack within ...

in late October or early November, although the 1962, 1995 and 2001 renewals were held at Belmont. The race was permanently moved to Belmont Park in 2008 and was changed from a handicap to allowance weight conditions in 2009. The race has been run at a variety of distances over the years: * miles – 1960, 1961, 1971 to 1974 * miles – 1962, 1975, 1976, 1978 to 1986 * miles – 1963 to 1969 * miles – 1970 * miles – 1977, 1995 and 2001 * miles – 1987 to 1994, 1996 to 2000, 2002 to present The Knickerbocker was run in two divisions in 1963, 1967, 1969, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, and 1985. In 1977, 1992, 1997 and 2023 the race was switched from turf to dirt due to rain. The 2023 event only fielded a two horse field.

Records

Speed record: (at current distance of 1 1/8 miles on turf) * Za Approval, 1:46.51 ( 2013) Most wins: * 2 – Shady Character (1974, 1975) * 2 – Charge d'Affaires (1999, 2000) * 2 – Boisterous (2011, 2012) * 2 – Blacktype (2017, 2018) 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 ...

: * 7 –

Jean Cruguet Jean Cruguet (born March 8, 1939, in Agen, Lot-et-Garonne, France) is a retired French-American thoroughbred horse racing jockey who won the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. At age five, Cruguet was placed in an orphanage after h ...

(1977 (2), 1978, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1992) Most wins by a trainer: * 6 –

Christophe Clement Christophe Clement (November 1, 1965 – May 25, 2025) was an American Thoroughbred horse trainer, who won the 2014 Belmont Stakes with Tonalist. Racing background Clement initially acquired his training skills from his father, Miguel, a lead ...

(1993, 1999, 2000, 2009, 2013, 2017) Most wins by an owner: * 5 – Ogden Mills Phipps / Phipps Stable (1974, 1975, 1978, 2011, 2012)

Winners

References

{{Reflist Horse races in the United States Grade 3 stakes races in the United States Graded stakes races in the United States Open mile category horse races Turf races in the United States Belmont Park