The Cowdin Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually from 1923 through 2005 at Aqueduct Racetrack and at Belmont Park which at one time was a Grade 1 event.
12-702: The Cowdin was first run in 1923 as the Junior Champion Stakes , a name taken from a very important race for two-year-olds which had been inaugurated in 1898 at Gravesend Race Track . The Junior Champion Stakes at Gravesend ended with the 1908 running when the racetrack was forced to close after the administration of Republican Governor Charles Evans Hughes signed into law the Hart–Agnew bill which effectively banned all racetrack wagering in New York State. The new Junior Champion Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack
24-487: Is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early June 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 one-half miles on dirt. It was a Grade 1 race prior to 1993. First run on May 14, 1887, at Gravesend Race Track on Coney Island , New York , it was won by Emery & Cotton's Dry Monopole in track record time for
36-541: The American Classic Races , the Preakness Stakes . In 1908, the administration of Governor Charles Evans Hughes signed into law the Hart–Agnew bill that effectively banned all racetrack betting in New York State. A 1910 amendment to the legislation added further restrictions that meant by 1911 all racetracks in the state ceased operations. Although the law was repealed in time to resume racing in 1913,
48-690: The Brooklyn Jockey Club with the backing of Philip and Michael Dwyer , two wealthy racing stable owners known as the Dwyer Brothers . Philip , the controlling shareholder of the Brooklyn Jockey Club, served as its president. Gravesend Race Track hosted the Preakness Stakes for fifteen years. Opened on August 26, 1886, its first executive board consisted of: The facility covered an area which extended from McDonald Avenue (then Gravesend Avenue) to Ocean Parkway , and from Kings Highway to Avenue U . This land had previously been occupied by
60-543: The Gravesend Race Track never reopened and the land was eventually sold to real-estate developers in 1920. Today, the annual Gravesend Handicap at Aqueduct Racetrack honors the former racing facility. 40°36′04″N 73°58′10″W / 40.60111°N 73.96944°W / 40.60111; -73.96944 Brooklyn Handicap The Brooklyn Stakes (formerly known as the Brooklyn Handicap )
72-564: The Prospect Park Fair Grounds, a slightly smaller and far more modest race course which had been used for harness racing . The facility was enclosed by a twelve-foot wooden fence and boasted an ornate two-story "double decker" grand stand of yellow Georgia pine with a bar and restaurant built into its brick base. A spur was created that allowed trains running along the Prospect Park & Coney Island railroad line to stop within
84-447: The facility and discharge passengers at a small station that led directly to the grand stand via a covered walkway. At the southern end of the facility stood the offices of the Brooklyn Jockey Club, as well as the dressing rooms for the jockeys. The northern end was occupied by the betting pavilion and carriage sheds. The eastern side, which ran along the tree-lined boulevard of Ocean Parkway (where impromptu training races often took place),
96-513: The mile and one-quarter distance. A versatile horse, a year earlier on June 15, 1886, Dry Monopole had won America's first ever Thoroughbred flat race on turf . The Brooklyn Handicap quickly became one of the top attractions on the New York racing circuit, drawing some of the best Thoroughbreds. Not run 1911–1912 due to the New York 's Hart–Agnew Law which banned parimutuel betting The race
108-556: Was occupied by the clubhouse. During its time, the racetrack executive included superintendent Ben Brush in whose honor the future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame horse Ben Brush was named. Among the major graded stakes races launched at the track were the Astoria Stakes , Brooklyn Handicap , Brooklyn Derby , Tremont Stakes , and the Gazelle Handicap . For the fifteen years from 1894 through 1908, Gravesend Race Track hosted one of
120-826: Was once the second leg of what is sometimes referred to as the New York Handicap Triple series of races. It was preceded by the Metropolitan Handicap and followed by the Suburban Handicap . Four horses won the Handicap Triple: The race is currently run on the same day as the Metropolitan Handicap, so it is no longer possible to win the Handicap Triple. Since inception the race has been held at: The Brooklyn Handicap has been contested at
132-650: Was renamed the Cowdin Stakes in 1941 to honor John Cheever Cowdin , former president of the racetrack. At its peak, the Cowdin Stakes was one of the important East Coast races for two-year-olds, a number of which would earn American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt honors. As well, 1929 winner Gallant Fox went on to win the 1930 U.S. Triple Crown and would be inducted into the U. S. Racing Hall of Fame . Other winners who would become Hall of Fame members were Twenty Grand (1930), Hill Prince (1949), Dr. Fager (1966), Foolish Pleasure (1974), Easy Goer (1988). The race
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#1732875735655144-509: Was split into two divisions in 1963, 1973, and 1976. The Cowdin Stakes was held at: Speed record: Most wins by a jockey : Most wins by a trainer : Most wins by an owner: Gravesend Race Track Gravesend Race Track was a Thoroughbred horse racing facility in the Gravesend neighborhood of Brooklyn , New York, that opened in 1886 and closed in 1910. The track was built by
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