| Discontinued stakes race | |
| Location | Sheepshead Bay Race Track Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York, United States |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1893–1909 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred – Flat racing |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 6+1⁄2 furlongs (.81 miles) |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Track | left-handed |
| Qualification | Three years old |
The Flying Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run from 1893 through 1909 at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. A race for three-year-old horses of either sex, it was last run on dirt over a distance of 6+1⁄2 furlongs.
Historical notes
Future Hall of Fame horses who won the Flying Handicap include Domino in 1894 and Broomstick in 1904.
Hall of Fame inductee George M. Odom won this race both as a jockey (1903) and as a trainer/owner (1909).
The 1911–1912 statewide shutdown of horse racing
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.
In spite of strong opposition by prominent owners such as August Belmont, Jr. and Harry Payne Whitney, reform legislators were not happy when they learned that betting was still going on at racetracks between individuals and they had further restrictive legislation passed by the New York Legislature in 1910 that made it possible for racetrack owners and members of its board of directors to be fined and imprisoned if anyone was found betting, even privately, anywhere on their premises. After a 1911 amendment to the law to limit the liability of owners and directors was defeated, every racetrack in New York State shut down. As a result, the Flying Handicap was not run in 1911 and 1912.
Owners, whose horses of racing age had nowhere to go, began sending them, their trainers and their jockeys to race in England and France. Many horses ended their racing careers there and a number remained to become an important part of the European horse breeding industry. Thoroughbred Times reported that more than 1,500 American horses were sent overseas between 1908 and 1913 and of them at least 24 were either past, present, or future Champions. When a February 21, 1913 ruling by the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division Court saw horse racing return in 1913 it was too late for the Sheepshead Bay horse racing facility and it never reopened.
Records
Speed record:
- 1:18.40 @ 6.5 furlongs (4,300 ft; 1,300 m) – Spooner (1908)
- 1:12.80 @ 6 furlongs (4,000 ft; 1,200 m) – Dublin (1901)
- 1:10.00 @ 5+3⁄4 furlongs (3,800 ft; 1,200 m) – Domino (1894)
Most wins by a jockey:
- 2 – Fred Taral (1894, 1895)
Most wins by a trainer:
- 3 – Sam Hildreth (1895, 1899, 1900)
Most wins by an owner:
- 2 – Newcastle Stable (1903, 1906)
Winners
| Year |
Winner |
Age |
Jockey |
Trainer |
Owner |
Dist. (Miles) |
Time |
Win$ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 | Prince Gal | 3 | James Butwell | George M. Odom | George M. Odom | 6.5 F | 1:20.20 | $1,050 |
| 1908 | Spooner | 3 | Clifford D. Gilbert | Max Hirsch | F. B. Lemaire | 6.5 F | 1:18.40 | $1,050 |
| 1907 | Baby Wolf | 3 | Joe Notter | John W. Rogers | Harry Payne Whitney | 6 F | 1:15.00 | $2,500 |
| 1906 | Inquisitor | 3 | Walter Miller | Thomas Welsh | Newcastle Stable | 6 F | 1:13.20 | $2,750 |
| 1905 | Oxford | 3 | Lucien Lyne | James J. McLaughlin | James J. McLaughlin | 6 F | 1:14.00 | $2,600 |
| 1904 | Broomstick | 3 | Tommy Burns | Robert Tucker | Samuel S. Brown | 6 F | 1:13.60 | $2,600 |
| 1903 | Shot Gun | 3 | George M. Odom | Thomas Welsh | Newcastle Stable | 6 F | 1:14.60 | $1,770 |
| 1902 | Hatasoo | 3 | Willie Shaw | Julius Bauer | Arthur Featherstone | 6 F | 1:13.00 | $2,050 |
| 1901 | Dublin | 3 | Patrick A. McCue | W. Fred Presgrave | Goughacres Stable | 6 F | 1:12.80 | $1,750 |
| 1900 | Vulcain | 3 | Milton Henry | Sam Hildreth | Sam Hildreth | 6 F | 1:13.40 | $1,400 |
| 1899 | Toluca | 3 | Richard Clawson | Sam Hildreth | Sydney Paget | 6 F | 1:14.00 | $1,430 |
| 1898 | Bendoran | 3 | Danny Maher | Walter Jennings | Walter Jennings | 6 F | 1:14.40 | $1,280 |
| 1897 | Casseopia | 3 | Fred Littlefield | R. Wyndham Walden | Alfred H. & Dave H. Morris | 6 F | 1:15.20 | $1,450 |
| 1896 | Refugee | 3 | Tod Sloan | William M. Wallace | William M. Wallace | 6 F | 1:16.00 | $1,400 |
| 1895 | Rey del Caredes | 3 | Fred Taral | Sam Hildreth | Santa Anita Stable | 5.75 F | 1:11.40 | $1,400 |
| 1894 | Domino | 3 | Fred Taral | William Lakeland | James R. & Foxhall P. Keene | 5.75 F | 1:10.00 | $1,475 |
| 1893 | Cactus | 3 | Monk Overton | David Gideon | David Gideon & John Daly | 5.75 F | 1:11.60 | $1,095 |
References
- "Condensed history of the Flying Handicap 1893–1908". Daily Racing Form. 1909-09-01. Retrieved 2019-06-01 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
- "Flying to Added Starter: Prince Gal Takes Handicap Feature at Sheepshead Bay". Daily Racing Form. 1909-09-02. Retrieved 2019-06-01 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
- "Twenty Years Ago Today". Daily Racing Form. 1924-08-29. Retrieved 2019-06-01 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
- "Penalties in the New York Bills". Daily Racing Form. 1908-01-18. Retrieved 2018-10-26 – via University of Kentucky Archives.
- Liebman, Bennett (May 24, 2009). "The First American Triple Crown Series". The Rail. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
- "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.
- "Racing Through the Century". Thoroughbred Times. February 14, 2000. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
- "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.