The Sapphire 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 from 1887 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 two-year-old horses of either sex, it was run on dirt over a distance of five and one-half

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

The inaugural running of the Sapphire Stakes took which took place on September 1, 1887 was won by Geraldine. Owned by Porter Ashe, ridden by Mike Kelly, and trained by Matthew Allen, Geraldine was described in a 1907 ''

Daily Racing Form The ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) (referred to as the ''Racing Form'' or "Form" and sometimes "telegraph" or "telly") is a tabloid newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois, by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of rac ...

'' article as "one of the fastest sprinters of American turf history." After another two years of racing, the same publication expanded their assessment of Geraldine to "one of the fleetest mares that ever raced in this country." Lady Navarre won the 1905 Sapphire Stakes and as a three-year-old continued to take on her male counterparts, winning the Tennessee Derby and finishing second to Sir Huon in the 1906 Kentucky Derby.

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

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 ...

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: * 1:06 1/5 @ 5.5 furlongs : Agile (1904) 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 – Eddie Dugan (1907, 1908, 1909) * 3 – Tommy Burns (1901, 1904, 1905) Most wins by a trainer: * 5 –

James G. Rowe Sr. James Gordon Rowe Sr. (1857 – August 2, 1929) was an American jockey and horse trainer elected to the Hall of Fame for Thoroughbred Horse racing. He won the Belmont Stakes twice as a jockey and 8 times as a trainer. He had 34 champion horses t ...

(1889, 1892, 1897, 1900, 1902) Most wins by an owner: * 2 –

John E. Madden John Edward Madden (December 28, 1856 – November 3, 1929) was a prominent United States, American Thoroughbred and Standardbred owner, breeder and trainer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He owned Hamburg Place Stud in Lexin ...

(1899, 1907) * 2 – James R. Keene (1900, 1902)

Winners

* † George Rose finished first in the 1896 running but was disqualified.

References

{{reflist Flat horse races for two-year-olds Discontinued horse races in New York City Sheepshead Bay Race Track Horse races established in 1887 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1909 1887 establishments in New York (state) 1910 disestablishments in New York (state)