# Spring Stakes (Sheepshead Bay)

The Spring Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run on dirt for twenty-five years between 1886 and 1910 at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. Open to two-year-old horses, from inception through 1889 it was raced over a distance of 6 furlongs (3,960 ft; 1,207 m) and then from 1890 through 1909 it was run on the futurity course at a distance of 5+3⁄4 furlongs (3,795 ft; 1,157 m). Its final running in 1910 was at a distance of 5 furlongs (3,300 ft; 1,006 m).

## Historical notes

The inaugural running of the Spring Stakes took place on June 22, 1886. It was won by Tremont, a colt would who would finish the year having won all thirteen of his starts.
Scottish Chieftain, the 1896 winner, went on to win the 1897 Belmont Stakes which race would become the third leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series.
The 1900 edition of the Spring Stakes was won by Richard T. Wilson Jr.'s The Parader who would go on to win the 1901 Preakness Stakes, a race that would become the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series.

### 1909: Eddie Dugan beat Eddie Dugan

The Spring Stakes of 1909 was won by Uncas Chief who went wire-to-wire under one of the country's top jockeys Eddie Dugan. Running second and in close pursuit throughout was a colt owned by Sam Hildreth named Eddie Dugan to honor the jockey.

## 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 state-wide shutdown of racing in 1911 and 1912. 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:
* 1:09 2/5 @ 5+3⁄4 furlongs (3,795 ft; 1,157 m): Strathmeath (1890)
* 1:13 1/5 @ 6 furlongs (3,960 ft; 1,207 m): Chapultepec (1907)
Most wins by a jockey:
* 3 – Edward Garrison (1889, 1892, 1894)
* 3 – Fred Taral (1891, 1896, 1897)
Most wins by a trainer:
* 3 – Frank McCabe (1886, 1888, 1889)
* 3 – John J. Hyland (1894, 1895, 1897)
Most wins by an owner:
* 3 – Dwyer Brothers Stable (1894, 1895, 1897)

## Winners

| Year | Winner | Age | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Dist. (Miles) | Time | Win$ |
| 1910 | Round The World | 2 | Frank Keogh | William G. Yanke | William G. Yanke | 5 F | 1:02.00 | $540 |
| 1909 | Uncas Chief | 2 | Eddie Dugan | Samuel T. Booker | Thomas L. Watt | 6 F | 1:14.00 | $420 |
| 1908 | Statesman | 2 | Dalton McCarthy | Frank E. Gardner | Frank E. Gardner | 6 F | 1:16.40 | $3,240 |
| 1907 | Chapultepec | 2 | Joe Notter | Fred Burlew | Fred Burlew | 6 F | 1:13.20 | $3,820 |
| 1906 | Ethon | 2 | Jack Martin | Charles A. Mulholland | George C. Bennett | 6 F | 1:14.80 | $3,910 |
| 1905 | Bill Phillips | 2 | Arthur Redfern | Thomas J. Healey | Richard T. Wilson Jr. | 6 F | 1:14.40 | $3,435 |
| 1904 | Red Friar | 2 | Jack Martin | Richard O. Miller | Philip J. Dwyer | 6 F | 1:13.60 | $3,420 |
| 1903 | Gallant | 2 | Andrew Minder | Thomas E. Mannix | Thomas E. Mannix & Co. | 6 F | 1:13.20 | $3,520 |
| 1902 | Hurst Park | 2 | Willie Shaw | James G. Rowe Sr. | James R. & Foxhall P. Keene | 6 F | 1:13.60 | $3,545 |
| 1901 | Chilton | 2 | Willie Shaw | William C. Smith | George E. Smith | 6 F | 1:14.00 | $675 |
| 1900 | The Parader | 2 | Patrick A. McCue | Thomas J. Healey | Richard T. Wilson Jr. | 53⁄4 F | 1:10.00 | $1,730 |
| 1899 | Mischievous | 2 | Willie Martin | Thomas Welsh | Charles Fleischman's Sons | 53⁄4 F | 1:10.60 | $1,790 |
| 1898 | Ethelbert | 2 | Tod Sloan | Lewis Elmore | James Galway | 53⁄4 F | 1:11.00 | $1,780 |
| 1897 | Firearm | 2 | Fred Taral | John J. Hyland | August Belmont Jr. | 53⁄4 F | 1:11.00 | $1,450 |
| 1896 | Scottish Chieftain | 2 | Fred Taral | Matthew Byrnes | Marcus Daly | 53⁄4 F | 1:13.40 | $1,425 |
| 1895 | Hazlet | 2 | Henry Griffin | John J. Hyland | David Gideon & John Daly | 53⁄4 F | 1:11.20 | $1,450 |
| 1894 | Waltzer | 2 | Edward Garrison | John J. Hyland | David Gideon & John Daly | 53⁄4 F | 1:12.40 | $1,950 |
| 1893 | St. Maxim | 2 | Alonzo Clayton | Robert Tucker | Charles Fleischmann & sons | 53⁄4 F | 1:14.00 | $3,145 |
| 1892 | Comanche | 2 | Edward Garrison | Augustus Hannon | Empire Stable | 53⁄4 F | 1:12.80 | $2,760 |
| 1891 | Victory | 2 | Fred Taral | William Lakeland | William Lakeland | 53⁄4 F | 1:15.00 | $3,300 |
| 1890 | Strathmeath | 2 | Marty Bergen | Green B. Morris | Green B. Morris | 53⁄4 F | 1:09.40 | $2,940 |
| 1889 | Blackburn | 2 | Edward Garrison | Frank McCabe | Dwyer Brothers Stable | 6 F | 1:15.50 | $3,125 |
| 1888 | Aurania | 2 | Jim McLaughlin | Frank McCabe | Dwyer Brothers Stable | 6 F | 1:16.00 | $3,325 |
| 1887 | Satisfaction | 2 | William J. Fitzpatrick | R. Wyndham Walden | R. Wyndham Walden | 6 F | 1:18.00 | $3,700 |
| 1886 | Tremont | 2 | Jim McLaughlin | Frank McCabe | Dwyer Brothers Stable | 6 F | 1:16.50 | $2,185 |