The Dolphin Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run between 1887 and 1909 at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. Open to three-year-old horses, it was raced over a distance of 1 1/8 miles on dirt.
Historical notes The inaugural edition of the Dolphin Stakes was won by Kingston who would finish his racing career with 89 wins, the most in the history of Thoroughbred racing. Kingston, his jockey, and his trainer all would have careers that led to induction in America's Racing Hall of Fame.
In 1894 Henry of Navarre was another future Hall of Fame inductee that won the Dolphin Stakes. He came into the event having already won that year's Travers and Belmont Stakes.
Beldame, a third Dolphin Stakes winner that would be inducted in the Hall of Fame, won the 1904 running. For that year she would be named American Horse of the Year.The Bloodhorse.com Champion's history charts
The final edition of the Dolphin Stakes was won by Gliding Belle, a filly owned by William F. Schulte who had been an owner of Churchill Downs and served as president and CEO from 1895 to 1901. Schulte was responsible for adding the now iconic twin spires to the Churchill Downs grandstand.
The End of a Race and of a Racetrack The 1908 passage of the Hart–Agnew anti-betting legislation by the New York Legislature under Republican Governor Charles Evans Hughes created havoc in the state's racing industry and would lead to a complete shutdown of racing in 1911 and 1912. The owners of Sheepshead Bay Race Track, and other racing facilities in New York State, struggled to stay in business without income from betting. Racetrack operators had no choice but to eliminate certain races and drastically reduce the purse money being paid out which resulted in the Dolphin Stakes not being run in 1908. Brought back in 1909 with a purse reduced to less than one-eighth 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. A February 21, 1913 ruling by the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division saw horse racing return in 1913. However, it was too late for the Sheepshead Bay horse racing facility and it never reopened.
Records Speed record: 1:53 flat @ 1 1/8 miles: Nealon (1906)
Most wins by a jockey: 2 – Jim McLaughlin (1998, 1888) 2 – Fred Taral (1891, 1893) 2 – Frank O'Neill (1904, 1905)
Most wins by a trainer: 2 – William Lakeland (1893, 1895, 1896)
Most wins by an owner: 2 – Byron McClelland (1892, 1894) 2 – James R. Keene (1893, 1895)
Winners Year Winner Age Jockey Trainer Owner Dist. (Miles) Time Win$1909Gliding Belle3Eddie MartinRichard P. BrooksWilliam F. Schulte11:58.40$4651908 Race not held1907Montfort3Clifford D. GilbertThomas J. HealeyMontpelier Stable11:57.00$3,3501906Nealon3Willie DuganHerman R. BrandtBarney Schreiber 11:53.00$3,4751905Water Light3Frank O'NeillMatthew M. AllenDiamond Jim Brady11:55.00$3,2751904Beldame 3Frank O'Neill Fred BurlewNewton Bennington (Lessee)11:53.00$3,0251903Eugenia Burch3Grover FullerJim McLaughlinLibby Curtis11:56.40$2,2501902Igniter3Willie ShawJulius BauerArthur Featherstone11:53.40$2,3751901Watercolor3Henry Spencer Charles Littlefield Jr.James B. A. Haggin11:53.40$1,7101900Lady Massey3John SlackJohn E. MaddenJohn E. Madden11:54.80$1,6901899McLeod of Dare3Patrick A. McCuePeter WimmerAugustus Eastin & Samuel E. Larabie11:57.00$1,3801898Floronso3Richard ClawsonGreen B. MorrisGreen B. Morris11:54.80$1,3501897Bernardillo3Skeets MartinAlbert CooperElias J. "Lucky" Baldwin11:56.80$1,4501896Goldcrest3Anthony Hamilton William LakelandWilliam Lakeland11:57.00$1,4001895Emma C.3Samuel DoggettWilliam LakelandJames R. Keene11:56.40$1,4001894Henry of Navarre 3Alonzo ClaytonByron McClellandByron McClelland11:53.80$1,5301893St. Leonards3Fred TaralWilliam LakelandJames R. Keene11:57.00$1,3001892Leonawell3Edward GarrisonByron McClellandByron McClelland11:57.40$1,5601891La Tosca3Fred TaralFrank M. BrayHough Brothers11:55.80$1,3301890Ruperta3Alonzo AllenB. J. Johnson11:55.20$1,5251889Buddhist3Marty BergenJohn W. RogersSamuel S. Brown11:56.20$1,8851888Judge Murray3Jim McLaughlin George H. Kernaghan11:55.80$1,6151887Kingston 3Jim McLaughlin Frank McCabeDwyer Brothers Stable11:55.50$1,440
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