Spring Stakes (Sheepshead Bay)

The Spring Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run on dirt for twenty-five years between 1886 and 1910 at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. Open to two-year-old horses, from inception through 1889 it was raced over a distance of six furlongs and then from 1890 through 1909 it was run on the futurity course at a distance of 5 ¾ furlongs. Its final running in 1910 was at a distance of five furlongs.[1] [2] [3]

Spring Stakes

Location	Sheepshead Bay Race Track, Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York
Inaugurated	1886
Race type	Thoroughbred - Flat racing
Race information
Distance	5 furlongs
Track	Dirt, left-handed
Qualification	Two-year-olds

Historical notes

The inaugural running of the Spring Stakes took place on June 22, 1886. It was won by Tremont, a colt would who would finish the year having won all thirteen of his starts.[4]

Scottish Chieftain, the 1896 winner, went on to win the 1897 Belmont Stakes which race would become the third leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series.[5]

The 1900 edition of the Spring Stakes was won by Richard T. Wilson Jr.'s The Parader who would go on to win the 1901 Preakness Stakes, a race that would become the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series.

1909: Eddie Dugan beat Eddie Dugan

The Spring Stakes of 1909 was won by Uncas Chief who went wire-to-wire under one of the country's top jockeys Eddie Dugan. Running second and in close pursuit throughout was a colt owned by Sam Hildreth named Eddie Dugan to honor the jockey.[6]

The End of a Race and of a Racetrack

Passage of the Hart-Agnew anti-betting legislation by the New York Legislature under Republican Governor Charles Evans Hughes led to a state-wide shutdown of racing in 1911 and 1912.[7] [8] A February 21, 1913 ruling by the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division saw horse racing return in 1913.[9] However, it was too late for the Sheepshead Bay horse racing facility and it never reopened.[10][11]

Records

Speed record:

• 1:09 2/5 @ 5 ¾ furlongs: Strathmeath (1890)
• 1:13 1/5 @ 6 furlongs: Chapultepec (1907)

Most wins by a jockey:

• 3 - Edward Garrison (1889, 1892, 1894)
• 3 - Fred Taral (1891, 1896, 1897)

Most wins by a trainer:

• 3 - Frank McCabe (1886, 1888, 1889)
• 3 - John J. Hyland (1894, 1895, 1897)

Most wins by an owner:

• 3 - Dwyer Brothers Stable (1894, 1895, 1897)

Winners

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Dist. (Miles)	Time	Win$
1910	Round The World	2	Frank Keogh	William G. Yanke	William G. Yanke	5 F	1:02.00	$540
1909	Uncas Chief	2	Eddie Dugan	Samuel T. Booker	Thomas L. Watt	6 F	1:14.00	$420
1908	Statesman	2	Dalton McCarthy	Frank E. Gardner	Frank E. Gardner	6 F	1:16.40	$3,240
1907	Chapultepec	2	Joe Notter	Fred Burlew	Fred Burlew	6 F	1:13.20	$3,820
1906	Ethon	2	Jack Martin	Charles A. Mulholland	George C. Bennett	6 F	1:14.80	$3,910
1905	Bill Phillips	2	Arthur Redfern	Thomas J. Healey	Richard T. Wilson Jr.	6 F	1:14.40	$3,435
1904	Red Friar	2	Jack Martin	Richard O. Miller	Philip J. Dwyer	6 F	1:13.60	$3,420
1903	Gallant	2	Andrew Minder	Thomas E. Mannix	Thomas E. Mannix & Co.	6 F	1:13.20	$3,520
1902	Hurst Park	2	Willie Shaw	James G. Rowe Sr.	James R. & Foxhall P. Keene	6 F	1:13.60	$3,545
1901	Chilton	2	Willie Shaw	William C. Smith	George E. Smith	6 F	1:14.00	$675
1900	The Parader	2	Patrick A. McCue	Thomas J. Healey	Richard T. Wilson Jr.	5​^3⁄4 F	1:10.00	$1,730
1899	Mischievous	2	Willie Martin	Thomas Welsh	Charles Fleischman's Sons	5​^3⁄4 F	1:10.60	$1,790
1898	Ethelbert	2	Tod Sloan	Lewis Elmore	James Galway	5​^3⁄4 F	1:11.00	$1,780
1897	Firearm	2	Fred Taral	John J. Hyland	August Belmont Jr.	5​^3⁄4 F	1:11.00	$1,450
1896	Scottish Chieftain	2	Fred Taral	Matthew Byrnes	Marcus Daly	5​^3⁄4 F	1:13.40	$1,425
1895	Hazlet	2	Henry Griffin	John J. Hyland	David Gideon & John Daly	5​^3⁄4 F	1:11.20	$1,450
1894	Waltzer	2	Edward Garrison	John J. Hyland	David Gideon & John Daly	5​^3⁄4 F	1:12.40	$1,950
1893	St. Maxim	2	Alonzo Clayton	Robert Tucker	Charles Fleischmann & sons	5​^3⁄4 F	1:14.00	$3,145
1892	Comanche	2	Edward Garrison	Augustus Hannon	Empire Stable	5​^3⁄4 F	1:12.80	$2,760
1891	Victory	2	Fred Taral	William Lakeland	William Lakeland	5​^3⁄4 F	1:15.00	$3,300
1890	Strathmeath	2	Marty Bergen	Green B. Morris	Green B. Morris	5​^3⁄4 F	1:09.40	$2,940
1889	Blackburn	2	Edward Garrison	Frank McCabe	Dwyer Brothers Stable	6 F	1:15.50	$3,125
1888	Aurania	2	Jim McLaughlin	Frank McCabe	Dwyer Brothers Stable	6 F	1:16.00	$3,325
1887	Satisfaction	2	William J. Fitzpatrick	R. Wyndham Walden	R. Wyndham Walden	6 F	1:18.00	$3,700
1886	Tremont	2	Jim McLaughlin	Frank McCabe	Dwyer Brothers Stable	6 F	1:16.50	$2,185

References

1. "Coney Island's 1897 Stakes". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1896-12-17. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
2. "The Spring Stakes". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1909-07-07. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
3. "Page [1], Terrific Storm Hits Sheepshead Bay". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1910-06-19. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
4. "The Boards Down and Up". New York Times, page 2. 1886-06-23. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
5. "1897 Belmont" (PDF). NYRA Belmont Stakes. 1897-05-29. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
6. "New York Form Chart". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1909-07-08. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
7. "Penalties in the New York Bills". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1908-01-18. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
8. Times, Special To The New York (July 14, 1911). "Race Track Bill Defeated In Senate; Measure Modifying Directors' Liability for Gambling Fails of Passage". Retrieved September 2, 2017 – via NYTimes.com.
9. "Oral Betting Held Legal: Appellate Division of New York Supreme Court Renders Important Decision". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1913-02-22. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
10. "Destruction Wrought by Hughes". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1908-12-15. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
11. "Famous Old Track is Sold". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1914-11-17. Retrieved 2018-11-30.