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28-697: Inaugurated at the Sheepshead Bay Race Track at Gravesend, New York , it was held there until 1913. At that time, the race was the richest stakes for three-year-olds in the United States. It was run as the Realization Stakes until 1899, when it was renamed to honor James G. K. Lawrence, president of the Coney Island Jockey Club (which owned the racetrack). Lawrence was also responsible for creating of

56-416: A racetrack may offer a high purse to attract better fields so the race will be upgraded in future years. The grade level is assigned by looking at data that indicates quality of the field for the last five years. In order to achieve or maintain a Grade I, it is necessary to attract a competitive field over a number of years. For graded turf races, track conditions (normally excessive rain) may sometimes force

84-612: A similar grading system is maintained by the Jockey Club of Canada . Graded stakes races are similar to Group races in Europe but the grading is more dynamic in North America. A high grading can also be used by racetracks to promote the race in question. When determining Eclipse Award winners, racing journalists will consider the number and grade of a horse's stakes wins during the year. In general, stakes race refers to

112-641: Is a thoroughbred horse race in the United States that meets the criteria of the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA). A specific grade level (I, II, III or listed) is then assigned to the race, based on statistical analysis of the quality of the field in previous years, provided the race meets the minimum purse criteria for the grade in question. In Canada,

140-720: The Astor Cup Race and the Harkness Trophy Race . The Sheepshead Bay Speedway Corporation ran into financial difficulties following the death of its majority shareholder Harry Harkness in January 1919. The property was sold in 1923 for residential real estate development . No trace of the racetrack can be found today. Other defunct New York race tracks: 40°35′32″N 73°56′50″W  /  40.59222°N 73.94722°W  / 40.59222; -73.94722 Graded stakes race A graded stakes race

168-676: The Futurity Stakes in 1888. The stakes were later run at Belmont Park on Long Island as a Grade II race on the dirt. The race continued to be run there (except for the Belmont Park redevelopment period from 1962 to 1968) until it was removed from the calendar in 2005 by the New York Racing Association (NYRA) as a cost-cutting measure. For 70 years, the Lawrence Realization was one of

196-411: The horseshoe , designed to improve traction, be no longer than 2 millimeters. This was in response to studies by Susan Stover showing that such toe grabs substantially increase the risk of catastrophic racing injuries. Recently, racing officials have also banned the use of furosemide (Lasix) in all Black Type races, which include graded and listed stakes races. A newly established race may inherit

224-565: The British system being Grade I, Grade II, Grade III. However, the advent of the Internet meant that format would eventually be mostly abandoned in favor of G1, G2, G3. Used by TOBA itself, and most significantly by Equibase Company LLC that is the official supplier of racing information and statistics to America's Best Racing , Breeders' Cup , Daily Racing Form , NTRA , The Jockey Club , TRA, TVG , and Xpressbet . A notable exception to

252-711: The Sheepshead Bay Race Track and it was ultimately sold to the Sheepshead Bay Speedway Corporation who used it for automobile racing. In December 1919, what the Daily Racing Form called one of the most famous racetracks in the history of the American turf, was purchased for real estate development . The facility was torn down and the land subdivided into building lots . Stakes race titles Ŧ One of

280-611: The Sheepshead Bay track was intense competition. In a summary of 1909 racing, the Daily Racing Form reported that "Sheepshead Bay, which for years led the country in daily average distribution, yielded first place in 1909 to Belmont Park, which August Belmont and his associates are ambitious to make the "turf headquarters of America"." A 1910 amendment to the Hart–Agnew legislation added further restrictions that made

308-441: The change in format being the three New York Racing Association tracks. Fasig-Tipto began including grading information in 1975, Keeneland Association in 1976, and Daily Racing Form in 1978. In 1998, Canada began to grade Canadian races independently. Listed stakes were first added as a level in 2013. The American Graded Stakes Committee grades only races that: In 2008, the committee began requiring that toe grabs on

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336-504: The graded status of a discontinued race if it is held at the same facility under essentially identical conditions as the discontinued race. For example, the inaugural running of the Pegasus World Cup in January 2017 was Grade I, inheriting the status of the discontinued Donn Handicap . There are four grade levels, from Listed at the bottom to Grade I at the top. The latter are higher-class races for bigger prizes for horses of

364-410: The most prestigious annual events in the American horse racing calendar. Only two horses contested the race in 1918, 1920, 1944, and 1946; however, due to the large number of entries in 1976 and 1985 it was run in two divisions. The race was contested over several distances: On September 4, 1920, Man o' War won the 1 + 5 ⁄ 8 -mile (2.6 km) Lawrence Realization by 100 lengths over

392-434: The new Sheepshead Bay track hosted a 1½ mile match race between two of the top horses racing at the time in the United States. The Dwyer Brothers' Luke Blackburn was ridden by Jim McLaughlin , and Pierre Lorillard's Uncas was ridden by Tom Costello . Luke Blackburn won by twenty lengths. Sheepshead Bay had both a dirt and a turf course. Principal backers were: The new Sheepshead Bay Race Track's premier event

420-653: The new race course was completed. On June 19, 1880 the track hosted its first day of Thoroughbred racing . Old maps and railroad track diagrams for the Manhattan Beach Branch of the Long Island Rail Road showing the spur that served both the club and the racetrack indicates the entrance to the club was located on the east side of Ocean Avenue between Avenues X and Y. The Sheepshead Bay Race Track station contained six tracks and three island platforms . In its first year of operations,

448-402: The only other runner, Hoodwink. His time for the race was 2 min 40 + 4 ⁄ 5 s, which broke the world record for the distance by 1 + 3 ⁄ 5 seconds and was his fifth record-setting performance that year. The great Kelso tied the record in 1960. * † In 1919, Over There finished first but was disqualified. Sheepshead Bay Race Track The Sheepshead Bay Race Track

476-495: The owners and directors of a racetrack personally liable for any betting done on their premises, with or without their consent. Such an onerous liability was intolerable and meant that by 1911 all racetracks in the state ceased operations. Although a February 21, 1913 ruling by the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division paved the way for racing to resume that year, by then it was too late for horse racing at

504-537: The purse or quality of field. Conversely, some races that are not technically stakes races (usually invitational races where entry fees are not required by the racetrack) may be eligible for grading if they meet the quality standards. European authorities implemented the Pattern race system in 1972 and requested that North America implement a similar method, leading to the development of the graded stakes system by TOBA in 1973. The first list of North American Graded Stakes

532-421: The race to be run on the main (dirt) track. If this happens, the race is automatically downgraded by one grade level for that running only. The Committee then reviews the race within five days and may restore the original grade. For example, a Grade I turf race that is switched to the dirt will be recorded as a Grade II race, unless the committee feels the quality of the race was sufficient to warrant Grade I. In

560-477: The same age and sex). Furthermore, there are "conditions" races, in which horses carry weights that are set by conditions, such as having won a certain number of races, or races of a certain value. Finally, some graded stakes are " handicaps ", in which an official handicapper assigns weights to each horse in an attempt to equalize the competition. All Grade I races must have a purse of at least $ 300,000, but not all races with such high purses are Grade I. For example,

588-402: The same age group (2, 3 or 3 and up) and may further be restricted by sex. The weight conditions of the races may vary provided they meet the committee's standards to ensure competitiveness. Many grade I races are " weight-for-age ", with weights adjusted only according to age and sex, and also there are "set weights" where all horses carry the same weight (usually applicable when all horses are of

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616-549: The stake, or entry fee, owners must pay, which generally forms part of the prize money offered to the top finishers. Not all stakes races are eligible for grading. Notably, races that are restricted to horses bred in a specific state (e.g., the Tiznow Stakes for California-breds) or country (e.g., the races that make up the Canadian Triple Crown , all restricted to Canadian-breds) are excluded, regardless of

644-534: The three Sheepshead Bay Autumn Serials. In 1959, the Sheepshead Bay Handicap was named in honor of the old racetrack, and first run at the now-defunct Jamaica Race Course in Jamaica, New York . It, too, is currently held at Belmont Park. The new owner converted the horse track to a board automobile race track . Several auto races were held from October 1915, through September 1919, including

672-726: Was an American Thoroughbred horse racing facility built on the site of the Coney Island Jockey Club at Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn , New York. The racetrack was built by a group of prominent businessmen from the New York City area who formed the Coney Island Jockey Club in 1879. Led by Leonard Jerome , James R. Keene , and the track's president, William Kissam Vanderbilt , the Club held seasonal race cards at nearby Prospect Park fairgrounds until construction of

700-477: Was contested at a distance of a mile and an eighth and was won by Emory & Cotton's Dry Monopole in a time of 157.00. In 1908, the administration of Governor Charles Evans Hughes signed into law the Hart–Agnew bill that effectively banned all racetrack betting in the state of New York . The legislation allowed for fines and up to a year in prison which was strictly enforced. Compounding matters for

728-467: Was named for James G. K. Lawrence. On June 10, 1886 the Coney Island Jockey Club opened the first turf racecourse in the United States. The Club replaced the Sheepshead Bay steeplechase course with a one-mile turf course, built inside the existing main dirt track. The Green Grass Stakes was the first race on turf and was run as part of the June 10 opening day program. A race for three-year-old horses, it

756-484: Was published in 1974. The original purpose of grading was to identify the most competitive races, which helps horsemen make comparisons of the relative quality of bloodstock for breeding and sales purposes. When the race-grading program was being set up for its 1973 introduction by the American Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association it was done so as to match the data formatting in use by

784-777: Was the Suburban Handicap , first run on June 10, 1884 and conceived by James G. K. Lawrence, who became the track's president. Four years later Lawrence would also create the Futurity Stakes , first run on Labor Day in 1888. At the time, the Futurity was the richest race ever run in the United States. Today, both the Suburban and the Futurity are ongoing Graded stakes races held at the Belmont Park racetrack in Elmont on Long Island . The Lawrence Realization Stakes

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