Inaugurated 1926 Surface Dirt | Distance 1,609 meters (1 mile) | |
Location Meadowlands Racetrack, East Rutherford, New Jersey,
United States Race type Harness race for standardbred trotters Website www.hambletonian.org/index.html | ||
The Hambletonian Stakes is a major American harness race, named in honor of Hambletonian 10, a foundation sire of the Standardbred horse breed, also known as the "Father of the American Trotter." The Hambletonian is held annually for three-year-old trotting Standardbreds. It is the first event in the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Trotters. The Hambletonian is run at Meadowlands Racetrack on the first Saturday in August.
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The Hambletonian first took place at the New York State Fair in Syracuse, NY in 1926. The race switched from Syracuse to Lexington, KY for the 1927 and 1929 races, however, because of rainouts. Starting in 1930, Good Time Park in Goshen, NY hosted the race until 1956 with the exception of 1943. That year, The Hambletonian was raced at Empire City Race Track, which became Yonkers Raceway in 1950, because of wartime gas rationing. The Du Quoin State Fair in Du Quoin, IL gained the rights to host the race in 1957 and held on to it until 1980. Since 1981, the race has been at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, NJ