Bay Ridge Handicap
The Bay Ridge Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run from 1901 through 1910 at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. A race for horses age three and older of either sex, it was run on dirt over a distance of a mile and a quarter until 1910 when it was reduced to a mile and a sixteenth.
| Discontinued stakes race | |
| Location | Sheepshead Bay Race Track Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York, United States |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1887–1910 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred – Flat racing |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1 1/16 miles: 1910 1 1/4 miles: 1901–1909 |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Track | left-handed |
| Qualification | Three years old & up |
The end of a race and of a racetrack
The Bay Ridge Handicap was last run on June 18, 1910 after the Republican-controlled New York Legislature under Governor Charles Evans Hughes passed the Hart–Agnew anti-betting legislation on June 11, 1908. The owners of Sheepshead Bay Race Track, and other racing facilities in New York State, struggled to stay in business without betting.[1] Racetrack operators had no choice but to drastically reduce the purse money being paid out which resulted in the Bay Ridge Handicap offering a purse in 1910 that was one-fifth of what it had been in earlier years. These small purses made horse racing unprofitable and impossible for even the most successful horse owners to continue in business.[2] Further restrictive legislation was passed by the New York Legislature in 1910 which resulted in the deepening of the financial crisis for track operators and led to a complete shut down of racing across the state during 1911 and 1912. When a Court ruling saw racing return in 1913 it was too late for the Sheepshead Bay facility and it never reopened.[3][4]
Records
Speed record:
- 1 ¼ miles: 2:04.40 – Effendi (1909)
Most wins by a jockey:
- 2 – Willie Shaw (1901, 1906)
Most wins by a trainer:
- no trainer won this race more than once
Most wins by an owner:
- 2 – no owner won this race more than once
Winners
| Year |
Winner |
Age |
Jockey |
Trainer |
Owner |
Dist. (Miles) |
Time |
Win$ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 | Hampton Court | 3 | Carroll H. Shilling | Sam Hildreth | Sam Hildreth | 11⁄16 M | 1:54.40 | $580 |
| 1909 | Effendi | 3 | William F. Doyle | Frank C. Frisbie | W. T. Ryan | 11⁄4 M | 2:04.40 | $485 |
| 1908 | Old Honesty | 4 | Joe Notter | Andrew J. Gorey | Andrew J. Gorey | 11⁄4 M | 2:06.20 | $510 |
| 1907 | Gallavant | 4 | Guy Garner | T. J. Healey | Richard T. Wilson Jr. | 11⁄4 M | 2:07.00 | $3,025 |
| 1906 | Ram's Horn | 4 | Willie Shaw | W. S. (Wink) Williams | W. S. (Wink) Williams | 11⁄4 M | 2:05.60 | $3,225 |
| 1905 | Cairngorm | 3 | Willie Davis | A. Jack Joyner | Sydney Paget | 11⁄4 M | 2:08.20 | $3,150 |
| 1904 | Proper | 4 | Gene Hildebrand | Walter B. Jennings | Walter B. Jennings | 11⁄4 M | 2:06.20 | $3,250 |
| 1903 | Blues | 5 | John J. Hoar | Frank D. Weir | Frank J. Farrell | 11⁄4 M | 2:10.20 | $1,630 |
| 1902 | Advance Guard | 5 | Otto Wonderly | Alexander Shields | James Carruthers & Alexander Shields | 11⁄4 M | 2:07.20 | $1,080 |
| 1901 | Kamara | 4 | Willie Shaw | Charles F. Hill | Clarence H. Mackay | 11⁄4 M | 2:06.40 | $1,085 |
References
- "Keep Up Betting Ban". New York Times. 1908-09-01. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
- "Coney Island Clubs Sturdy Stand". Daily Racing Form. 1908-08-11. Retrieved 2019-02-03 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
- "Destruction Wrought by Hughes". Daily Racing Form. 1908-12-15. Retrieved 2018-11-30 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
- "Famous Old Track is Sold". Daily Racing Form. 1914-11-17. Retrieved 2018-11-30 – via University of Kentucky Archives.