Sapphire Stakes (United States)

The Sapphire Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run from 1887 through 1909 at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. A race for two-year-old horses of either sex, it was run on dirt over a distance of five and one-half furlongs.^[1]

Sapphire Stakes

Discontinued stakes race
Location	Sheepshead Bay Race Track, Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York, United States
Inaugurated	1887
Race type	Thoroughbred – Flat racing
Race information
Distance	5.5 furlongs
Surface	Dirt
Track	left-handed
Qualification	Two years old

Historical notes

The inaugural running of the Sapphire Stakes took which took place on September 1, 1887 was won by Geraldine.^[2] Owned by Porter Ashe, ridden by Mike Kelly, and trained by Matthew Allen, Geraldine was described in a 1907 Daily Racing Form article as "one of the fastest sprinters of American turf history."^[3] After another two years of racing, the same publication expanded their assessment of Geraldine to "one of the fleetest mares that ever raced in this country."^[4]

Lady Navarre won the 1905 Sapphire Stakes and as a three-year-old continued to take on her male counterparts, winning the Tennessee Derby and finishing second to Sir Huon in the 1906 Kentucky Derby.^[5][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 compete shutdown of racing in 1911 and 1912 in the state.^[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:

• 1:06 1/5 @ 5.5 furlongs : Agile (1904)

Most wins by a jockey:

• 3 – Eddie Dugan (1907, 1908, 1909)
• 3 – Tommy Burns (1901, 1904, 1905)

Most wins by a trainer:

• 5 – James G. Rowe Sr. (1889, 1892, 1897, 1900, 1902)

Most wins by an owner:

• 2 – John E. Madden (1899, 1907)
• 2 – James R. Keene (1900, 1902)

Winners

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Dist. (Furlongs)	Time	Win$
1909	Pretend	2	Eddie Dugan	Thomas Welsh	Thomas Monahan	5.5 F	1:07.20	$1,050
1908	Perseus	2	Eddie Dugan	A. Jack Joyner	Harry Payne Whitney	5.5 F	1:06.40	$1,050
1907	Meelick	2	Eddie Dugan	John E. Madden	John E. Madden	5.5 F	1:06.60	$3,025
1906	W. H. Daniel	2	Joshua Jones	Henry E. McDaniel	Edmund S. Burke Jr.	5.5 F	1:06.60	$3,175
1905	Lady Navarre	2	Tommy Burns	George P. Brazier	Charles R. Ellison	5.5 F	1:09.00	$3,625
1904	Agile	2	Tommy Burns	Robert Tucker	Samuel S. Brown	5.5 F	1:06.20	$3,425
1903	Luxembourg	2	Gray	Anthony L. Aste	Anthony L. Aste	5.5 F	1:07.00	$2,710
1902	Clarion	2	Winfield O'Connor	James G. Rowe Sr.	James R. Keene	5.5 F	1:06.40	$3,170
1901	Pretorius	2	Tommy Burns	John W. Rogers	William Collins Whitney	5.5 F	1:08.00	$2,470
1900	Conroy	2	Henry Spencer	James G. Rowe Sr.	James R. & Foxhall P. Keene	5.5 F	1:06.60	$2,250
1899	Gulden	2	George M. Odom	John E. Madden	John E. Madden	5.5 F	1:08.40	$2,440
1898	Ways and Means	2	Danny Maher	Byron McClelland	Mrs. Byron McClelland	5.5 F	1:10.00	$1,990
1897	The Huguenot	2	Willie Martin	James G. Rowe Sr.	William P. Thompson & Lewis S. Thompson	5.5 F	1:08.00	$1,430
1896	The Friar †	2	Fred Littlefield	R. Wyndham Walden	Alfred H. & Dave H. Morris	5.5 F	1:07.80	$1,425
1895	Kamsin	2	Henry Griffin	Louis H. Ezell	Louis H. Ezell	5.5 F	1:08.40	$1,630
1894	Dolabra	2	Anthony Hamilton	John Huggins	Pierre Lorillard IV	5.5 F	1:08.40	$2,010
1893	Longdale	2	John Lamley	John S. Campbell	Jacob Ruppert Jr.	5.5 F	1:08.80	$1,725
1892	Bellegarde	2	Willie Simms	James G. Rowe Sr.	Blemton Stable	5.5 F	1:09.00	$1,935
1891	King Cadmus	2	Fred Taral	William C. Smith	George E. Smith	5.5 F	1:09.40	$2,030
1890	Gascon	2	Monk Overton	John H. Morris	Bashford Manor Stable	5.5 F	1:10.00	$2,370
1889	Magnate	2	George Anderson	James G. Rowe Sr.	August Belmont Sr.	5.5 F	1:09.20	$2,415
1888	Sluggard	2	George Taylor	Barney Riley	David D. Withers	6 F	1:14.40	$1,805
1887	Geraldine	2	Mike Kelly	Matthew M.Allen	Maltese Villa Stable (R. Porter Ashe)	6 F	1:15.00	$2,000

• † George Rose finished first in the 1896 running but was disqualified.

References

1. "Pretend Earns a Clever Victory in the Sapphire Stakes, the Feature Race at Sheepshead Bay". New York Times, page 11. 1909-09-08. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
2. "Racing at Sheepshead Bay – Third Race The Sapphire stakes". Indianapolis Journal. 1887-09-02. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
3. "Condensed History of the Sapphire Stakes". Daily Racing Form. 1907-09-08. Retrieved 2019-11-06 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
4. "Running of the Sapphire Stakes". Daily Racing Form. 1909-09-07. Retrieved 2019-11-06 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
5. "Lady Navarre's Tennessee Derby". New York Times. 1906-04-25. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
6. "1906 Kentucky Derby Results Tables" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-14. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
7. "Penalties in the New York Bills". Daily Racing Form. 1908-01-18. Retrieved 2018-10-26 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
8. "Race Track Bill Defeated In Senate; Measure Modifying Directors' Liability for Gambling Fails of Passage". The New York Times. July 14, 1911. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
9. "Oral Betting Held Legal: Appellate Division of New York Supreme Court Renders Important Decision". Daily Racing Form. 1913-02-22. Retrieved 2019-06-29 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
10. "Destruction Wrought by Hughes". Daily Racing Form. 1908-12-15. Retrieved 2018-11-30 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
11. "Famous Old Track is Sold". Daily Racing Form. 1914-11-17. Retrieved 2018-11-30 – via University of Kentucky Archives.