The Mount Vernon 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 in twenty-one of the years between 1907 and 1930 at

Empire City Race Track Yonkers Raceway & Empire City Casino, founded in 1899 as the Empire City Race Track, is a one-half-mile standardbred harness racing dirt track and slots racino located at the intersection of Central Park Avenue and Yonkers Avenue in Yonkers, New ...

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

with one year only in 1915 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 ...

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

. There was no race held from 1911 thru 1913 as a result of anti-betting legislation passed by the

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 ...

. Titled the Hart-Agnew, transgressors of the law faced substantial

fines Fines may refer to: *Fines, Andalusia, Spanish municipality *Fine (penalty) * Fine, a dated term for a Lease#Leases_of_land, premium on a lease of land, a large sum the tenant pays to commute (lessen) the rent throughout the term * Fines, ore or oth ...

and up to a year in

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

. First run on August 7, 1913, the Mount Vernon Handicap was a sprint race of about three-quarters of a mile and was won by Samuel Hyman's five-year-old gelding, Quadrille. The following year the race was changed to one mile, a distance that would continue thru 1924 when it was increased to one mile and seventy yards. Andrew Miller’s 1918 winner Roamer would have a career that saw him receive American Thoroughbred racing’s highest honor with induction into the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred horse racing, Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and Horse trainer, trainers. In 1955, the museum ...

. In winning the 1924 Mount Vernon Handicap, August Belmont Jr.'s Ordinance broke the track record for the one mile distance on dirt. The three-year-old colt's time of 1:38 flat would hold up as the Mount Vernon Handicap's fastest time at the Empire City track.

Records

Speed record: * 1:36.60 @ 1 mile : Sam Jackson (1915) (

) * 1:38.00 @ 1 mile : Ordinance (1924) (Empire City Race Track) * 1:42.80 @ 1 mile, 70 yards :

Sarazen Sarazen (1921–1940) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Owned by Colonel Phil T. Chinn's Himyar Stud, Sarazen won his first three starts. Chinn then sold him for a huge profit to Virginia Fair Vanderbilt, who raced ...

(1926) Most wins: * No horse won this race more than once. 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 - John Callahan (1925, 1927) Most wins by a trainer: * No trainer won this race more than once. Most wins by an owner: * 2 - August Belmont Jr. (1909, 1924)

Winners

References

{{reflist Empire City Race Track Discontinued horse races in the United States Horse races in the United States Horse races in New York (state) Open flat horse races Open mile category horse races Open sprint category horse races Recurring sporting events established in 1907 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1931 1907 in American sports