Puneet Varma (Editor)

Manhattan Handicap

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Inaugurated
  
1887

Surface
  
Turf

Website
  
Belmont Park

Purse
  
1 million USD (2014–)

Location
  
Belmont Park Elmont, New York, USA

Race type
  
Thoroughbred - Flat racing

Distance
  
1 ⁄4 miles (10 furlongs)

2012 manhattan handicap desert blanc


The Manhattan Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race raced annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is named for Manhattan, the principal borough of the City of New York. Currently offering a purse of $1,000,000, the Grade I Manhattan Handicap is open to 4-year-olds & up, and is run on turf over the classic distance of  1 1⁄4 miles.

Contents

Inaugurated in 1887 at the now defunct Morris Park Racetrack in The Bronx, New York, in 1905 the race was moved to Belmont Park. It was contested on dirt from inception through 1970, and again in 1977, 1979 and 1988. The race was hosted by Aqueduct Racetrack in 1959 and 1961, plus between 1963 and 1967.

There was no race held in 1897 and 1909 to 1913. Large fields in 1971, 1972, 1975 and 1977 saw the race divided into two divisions.

Since 1991, the race has been run on the undercard of the final leg of the U.S. Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes.

Over the years, the Manhattan Handicap has been set at a variety of distances:

  • 1887-1896, 1978 to present : 1 1⁄4 miles (10 furlongs)
  • 1898-1908 : six furlongs
  • 1914-1915 : seven furlongs
  • 1916-1932 : 1 mile
  • 1933-1958, 1960, 1962, 1963–1964, 1968–1969, 1977 : 1 1⁄2 miles (12 furlongs)
  • 1961 : 1 5⁄16 miles (11 furlongs)
  • 1959, 1965-1967 : 1 5⁄8 miles (13 furlongs)
  • 1970 to 1976 : 1 3⁄8 miles (11 furlongs)

    • 2014 manhattan handicap


    Records

    Speed record:

  • 1:57.79 - Paradise Creek (1994)

    • Most wins:

  • 3 - Bolingbroke (1940, 1942, 1943)

    • Most wins by a jockey:

  • 5 - Jerry D. Bailey (1986, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005)

    • Most wins by a trainer:

  • 5 - James Rowe, Sr. (1887, 1890, 1914, 1926, 1928)

    • Most wins by an owner:

  • 4 - Harry Payne Whitney (1907, 1908, 1926, 1928)
  • 4 - Townsend B. Martin (1940, 1942, 1943, 1945)
  • 4 - Greentree Stable (1944, 1950, 1962, 1972)

    • References

    Manhattan Handicap Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA