The Suburban Stakes (also known Suburban Handicap) is an American
Grade II
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
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 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
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 ...
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 ...
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
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. 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
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 ...
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 The Handicap Triple Crown or New York Handicap Triple are the names used to refer to three American handicap races for older Thoroughbred racehorses run by the New York Racing Association at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The three races are ...
series of races as it follows the
Metropolitan Handicap
The Metropolitan Handicap, frequently called the "Met Mile", is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of one mile (8 furl ...
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
Whisk Broom II (1907–1928) was an United States, American-bred Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who raced in the United Kingdom (under the name Whisk Broom) and in the United States. Whisk Broom showed high class form during four season ...
(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 ...
Fit to Fight
Fit to Fight (April 5, 1979 in Kentucky – May 30, 2008) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Handicap Triple Crown (also called the New York Handicap Triple) in 1984.
Background
Sired by Chieftain, a son of Bold Ruler, in ...
(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
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...
,
Imp
IMP or imp may refer to:
* Imp, a fantasy creature
Arts and entertainment
Music
* IMP (band) a Japanese boy band
Fictional characters
* Imp (She-Ra), a character in ''She-Ra: Princess of Power''
* Imp a character in '' Artemis Fowl: The L ...
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
Crusader or Crusaders may refer to:
Military
* Crusader, a participant in one of the Crusades
* Convair NB-36H Crusader, an experimental nuclear-powered bomber
* Crusader tank, a British cruiser tank of World War II
* Crusaders (guerrilla), a C ...
Winter's Tale
''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...
(1980, 1983)
* 2 –
Devil His Due
Devil His Due (April 18, 1989 – May 22, 2017) was a multimillionaire American Thoroughbred racehorse and successful sire. Bred in Kentucky by Peter E. Blum and raced under the Blue Ribbon Farm banner, he had a record of 41: 11-12-3 with career ...
(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
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.James Fitzsimmons (1922, 1938, 1951, 1956, 1958)
Most wins by an owner:
* 5 –
Ogden Phipps
Ogden Phipps (November 26, 1908 – April 21, 2002) was an American stockbroker, court tennis champion and Hall of Fame member, thoroughbred horse racing executive and owner/breeder, and an art collector and philanthropist. In 2001, he was induct ...
(1951, 1967, 1988, 1989, 1990)
* 5 –
Rokeby Stable
Rokeby Stables was an American thoroughbred racehorse breeding farm in Upperville, Virginia, involved with both steeplechase and flat racing. The operation was established in the late 1940s by Paul Mellon (1907–1999), who won the Eclipse Award ...