The Suburban Stakes (also known Suburban Handicap) is an American
Grade II Thoroughbred horse race run annually 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 ...
in
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 ...
. Open to horses age three and older, it is now run at the mile distance on dirt for a $350,000 purse (as of 2023).
Named after the City and Suburban Handicap in England, the Suburban had its 138th running in 2024.
Inaugurated at the
Sheepshead Bay Race Track in 1884, it was run there through 1910. However, the 1908 passage of the
Hart–Agnew anti-betting legislation by the
New York Legislature 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 state-wide shutdown of racing in 1911 and 1912. A February 21, 1913 ruling by the
New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division saw horse racing return in 1913. Nevertheless, it was too late for the Sheepshead Bay horse racing facility and it never reopened.
The race was picked up by the operators of Belmont Park where it was run in 1913. Not run the following year it was hosted by the
Empire City Race Track in 1915 before returning to Belmont Park. It has remained there except for the races of 1961 to 1974 and 1976 when it was run 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 ...
.
The Suburban Handicap was contested at a distance of one and one half miles in 1975 and at a mile and three-sixteenths in 1976. Beginning in 1978, the race was started on Belmont Park's clubhouse turn. The event was renamed from the Suburban Handicap in 2017.
The race is the final of the three races that once composed the
New York Handicap Triple series of races as it follows the
Metropolitan Handicap and the
Brooklyn Handicap
The Brooklyn Stakes (formerly known as the Brooklyn Handicap) is an American Thoroughbred horse race run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, on Long Island. It currently is a Grade II event open to four-year-olds and up willing to race one and ...
. Four horses have won the Handicap Triple:
*
Whisk Broom II (1913)
*
Tom Fool
Tom Fool (March 31, 1949 – August 20, 1976) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 1953 American Horse of the Year and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Racing Hall of Fame. He sired the champi ...
(1953)
*
Kelso (1961)
*
Fit to Fight (1984)
The list of former winners is like a who's who of the race horse world, featuring some of American racing's greatest champions. The first mare to win the Suburban Handicap was the great
Hall of Famer,
Imp.
Records
Speed record:
* 1:58.33 –
In Excess (1991)
* 1:46.58 –
Mucho Macho Man
Mucho Macho Man (foaled June 15, 2008) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2013 Breeders' Cup Classic. He was foaled in Florida and named after the Village People song " Macho Man". His breeders were Carole and John Rio of Flori ...
(2012) (At distance of miles)
Most wins:
* 2 –
Crusader (1926, 1927)
* 2 –
Kelso (1961, 1963)
* 2 –
Winter's Tale (1980, 1983)
* 2 –
Devil His Due (1993, 1994)
* 2 –
Flat Out (2010, 2013)
* 2 –
Effinex (2015, 2016)
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 ...
:
* 8 –
Eddie Arcaro
George Edward Arcaro (February 19, 1916 – November 14, 1997) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who won more American classic races than any other jockey in history and is the only rider to have won the U.S. Triple ...
(1945, 1947, 1949, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961)
Most wins by a
trainer:
* 5 –
Sam Hildreth (1909, 1915, 1916, 1923, 1924)
* 5 –
James Fitzsimmons (1922, 1938, 1951, 1956, 1958)
Most wins by an owner:
* 5 –
Ogden Phipps (1951, 1967, 1988, 1989, 1990)
* 5 –
Rokeby Stable (1973, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1984)
Winners
See also
*
Suburban Stakes top three finishers and starters
References
{{Reflist
External links
Ten Things You Should Know About the Suburban Handicap at Hello Race Fans
Horse races in New York (state)
Graded stakes races in the United States
Open middle distance horse races
Recurring events established in 1884
Belmont Park
Sheepshead Bay Race Track
1884 establishments in New York (state)