Zephyr Stakes

The Zephyr Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race that was run from 1886 through 1910 at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. A race for two-year-olds of either sex, it was a sprint race run on dirt. During its tenure, it was run at three different distances. From inception through 1900 it was run on the track's Futurity course at 5+3⁄4 furlongs with a setup that did not accommodate a standard six-furlong race.^[1] (A furlong is 1⁄8 mi or 0.20 km.)

Zephyr Stakes

Discontinued stakes race
Location	Sheepshead Bay Race Track Brooklyn, New York, United States
Inaugurated	1886–1910
Race type	Thoroughbred – Flat racing
Race information
Distance	Furlongs: 1886–1900: 5+3⁄4 1901–1909: 5+1⁄2 1910: 5
Surface	Dirt
Track	left-handed
Qualification	Two-year-olds

The 1886 inaugural Zephyr Stakes was won by Tremont. Considered one of the great two-year-old horses in the history of American racing, Tremont's thirteen race wins set a record for the most by an undefeated two-year-old trained in the United States. Going into 2019, that record still stands. He earned 1886 American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt honors.^[2]

On June 11, 1908, the Republican controlled New York Legislature under Governor Charles Evans Hughes passed the Hart–Agnew anti-betting legislation with penalties allowing for fines and up to a year in prison.^[3] The owners of Sheepshead Bay Race Track, and other racing facilities in New York State, struggled to stay in business without betting.^[4] Racetrack operators had no choice but to drastically reduce the purse money being paid out which by 1909 saw the Mermaid Stakes offering a purse that was close to one-tenth of what it had been in earlier years.^[5] Further restrictive legislation was passed by the New York Legislature in 1910 which deepened 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 horse racing facility and it never reopened.

Records

Speed record:

• 5+1⁄2 furlongs: 1:06.40, Disadvantage (1901)
• 5+3⁄4 furlongs: 1:09.40, Commando (1900)

Most wins by a jockey:

• 2 – Jim McLaughlin (1886, 1887)
• 2 – Tod Sloan (1896, 1898)

Most wins by a trainer:

• 3 – Frank McCabe (1886, 1887, 1889)
• 3 – T. J. Healey (1904, 1905, 1906)

Most wins by an owner:

• 3 – Dwyer Brothers Stable (1886, 1887, 1889)
• 3 – Richard T. Wilson Jr. (1904, 1905, 1906)

Winners

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Dist. (Furlongs)	Time	Win US$
1910	Round The World	2	Frank Keogh	J. H. Armstrong	William G. Yanke	5 F	0:59.80	$520
1909	Reybourn	2	James Butwell	William O. Scully	H. L. Lee	5.5 F	1:07.40	$455
1908	Torbellino	2	Joe McCahey	Enoch Wishard	Adolph B. Spreckels	5.5 F	1:07.00	$3,690
1907	Lady Winifred	2	Guy Garner	James H. McCreery	Frederick Johnson	5.5 F	1:07.20	$4,310
1906	Red River	2	Walter Miller	T. J. Healey	Richard T. Wilson Jr.	5.5 F	1:06.80	$4,470
1905	Gallavant	2	Arthur Redfern	T. J. Healey	Richard T. Wilson Jr.	5.5 F	1:08.00	$3,900
1904	Gamara	2	Gene Hildebrand	T. J. Healey	Richard T. Wilson Jr.	5.5 F	1:08.60	$3,735
1903	Race King	2	Frank O'Neill	Jim McLaughlin	Orville L. Richards	5.5 F	1:09.20	$3,900
1902	Golden Maxim	2	Winfield O'Connor	James J. McLaughlin	J. P. Kramer	5.5 F	1:08.40	$3,940
1901	Disadvantage	2	Willie Shaw	Arthur Carter	J. W. Smythe	5.5 F	1:06.40	$700
1900	Commando	2	Henry Spencer	James G. Rowe Sr.	James R. Keene	5.75 F	1:09.40	$1,800
1899	Killashandra	2	Patrick A. McCue	Sam Hildreth	Sydney Paget	5.75 F	1:11.40	$1,890
1898	Sir Hubert	2	Tod Sloan	Thomas Welsh	C. Fleischmann's Sons	5.75 F	1:11.20	$1,970
1897	Mont d'Or †	2	Joseph Scherrer	William Hayward Sr.	Sensation Stable (S. Deimel & H. S. Crossman)	5.75 F	1:11.00	$1,450
1896	Divide	2	Tod Sloan	William H. Karrick	Kensico Stable (J. P. Kramer & A. L. Aste)	5.75 F	1:13.20	$1,430
1895	Applegate	2	John J. McCafferty	John J. McCafferty	John J. McCafferty	5.75 F	1:11.40	$1,450
1894	Waltzer	2	Henry Griffin	John J. Hyland	David Gideon & John Daly	5.75 F	1:11.80	$1,950
1893	Dobbins	2	Willie Simms	Hardy Campbell Jr.	Richard Croker	5.75 F	1:12.00	$3,430
1892	Lovelace	2	Fred Taral	John Hunter	John Hunter	5.75 F	1:14.60	$3,100
1891	Nomad	2	Edward H. Garrison	Albert Cooper	Rosemeade Stable (Lee J. Rose)	5.75 F	1:15.00	$3,490
1890	Bolero	2	Marty Bergen	Charles Leighton	William Lawrence Scott	5.75 F	1:10.00	$3,340
1889	Blackburn	2	George Taylor	Frank McCabe	Dwyer Brothers Stable	5.75 F	1:15.50	$3,375
1888	Holiday	2	Robert Williams	R. Wyndham Walden	R. Wyndham Walden	5.75 F	1:15.00	$3,855
1887	King Fish	2	Jim McLaughlin	Frank McCabe	Dwyer Brothers Stable	5.75 F	1:15.00	$3,710
1886	Tremont	2	Jim McLaughlin	Frank McCabe	Dwyer Brothers Stable	5.75 F	1:17.25	$2,075

• † In the 1897 race, Blueaway finished first but was disqualified for improper weight.^[6]

References

1. "Coney Island's 1897 Stakes". Daily Racing Form. 1896-12-17. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
2. "Tremont Stakes". NYRA. 2018-06-08. Retrieved 2018-11-23.
3. "Penalties in the New York Bills". Daily Racing Form. 1908-01-18. Retrieved 2018-10-26 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
4. "Keep Up Betting Ban". New York Times. 1908-09-01. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
5. "Striking Falling off in Value of Ten Greatest Stakes". Daily Racing Form. 1910-07-16. Retrieved 2018-10-15 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
6. "Blueaway Disqualified". New York Sun. 1897-06-02. Retrieved 2017-06-05.