| Class: | Discontinued stakes |
| Horse Race: | Sapphire Stakes |
| Location: | Sheepshead Bay Race Track, Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York, United States |
| Inaugurated: | 1887 |
| Race Type: | Thoroughbred – Flat racing |
| Distance: | 5.5 furlongs |
| Surface: | Dirt |
| Track: | left-handed |
| Qualification: | Two years old |
The Sapphire Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run from 1887 through 1909 at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. A race for two-year-old horses of either sex, it was run on dirt over a distance of five and one-half furlongs.[1]
The inaugural running of the Sapphire Stakes took which took place on September 1, 1887 was won by Geraldine.[2] Owned by Porter Ashe, ridden by Mike Kelly, and trained by Matthew Allen, Geraldine was described in a 1907 Daily Racing Form article as "one of the fastest sprinters of American turf history."[3] After another two years of racing, the same publication expanded their assessment of Geraldine to "one of the fleetest mares that ever raced in this country."[4]
Lady Navarre won the 1905 Sapphire Stakes and as a three-year-old continued to take on her male counterparts, winning the Tennessee Derby and finishing second to Sir Huon in the 1906 Kentucky Derby.[5] [6]
Passage of the Hart–Agnew anti-betting legislation by the New York Legislature under Republican Governor Charles Evans Hughes led to a compete shutdown of racing in 1911 and 1912 in the state.[7] [8] A February 21, 1913 ruling by the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division saw horse racing return in 1913.[9] However, it was too late for the Sheepshead Bay horse racing facility and it never reopened.[10] [11]
Speed record:
Most wins by a jockey:
Most wins by a trainer:
Most wins by an owner:
| Year | Winner | Age | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Dist. (Furlongs) | Time | Win$ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 | Pretend | 2 | Eddie Dugan | Thomas Welsh | Thomas Monahan | 5.5 F | 1:07.20 | $1,050 |
| 1908 | Perseus | 2 | Eddie Dugan | A. Jack Joyner | Harry Payne Whitney | 5.5 F | 1:06.40 | $1,050 |
| 1907 | Meelick | 2 | Eddie Dugan | John E. Madden | John E. Madden | 5.5 F | 1:06.60 | $3,025 |
| 1906 | W. H. Daniel | 2 | Joshua Jones | Henry E. McDaniel | Edmund S. Burke Jr. | 5.5 F | 1:06.60 | $3,175 |
| 1905 | Lady Navarre | 2 | Tommy Burns | George P. Brazier | 5.5 F | 1:09.00 | $3,625 | |
| 1904 | Agile | 2 | Tommy Burns | Robert Tucker | Samuel S. Brown | 5.5 F | 1:06.20 | $3,425 |
| 1903 | Luxembourg | 2 | Gray | Anthony L. Aste | Anthony L. Aste | 5.5 F | 1:07.00 | $2,710 |
| 1902 | Clarion | 2 | Winfield O'Connor | James G. Rowe Sr. | James R. Keene | 5.5 F | 1:06.40 | $3,170 |
| 1901 | Pretorius | 2 | Tommy Burns | John W. Rogers | William Collins Whitney | 5.5 F | 1:08.00 | $2,470 |
| 1900 | Conroy | 2 | Henry Spencer | James G. Rowe Sr. | James R. & Foxhall P. Keene | 5.5 F | 1:06.60 | $2,250 |
| 1899 | Gulden | 2 | George M. Odom | John E. Madden | John E. Madden | 5.5 F | 1:08.40 | $2,440 |
| 1898 | Ways and Means | 2 | Danny Maher | Byron McClelland | Mrs. Byron McClelland | 5.5 F | 1:10.00 | $1,990 |
| 1897 | The Huguenot | 2 | Willie Martin | James G. Rowe Sr. | William P. Thompson & Lewis S. Thompson | 5.5 F | 1:08.00 | $1,430 |
| 1896 | The Friar † | 2 | Fred Littlefield | R. Wyndham Walden | Alfred H. & Dave H. Morris | 5.5 F | 1:07.80 | $1,425 |
| 1895 | Kamsin | 2 | Henry Griffin | Louis H. Ezell | Louis H. Ezell | 5.5 F | 1:08.40 | $1,630 |
| 1894 | Dolabra | 2 | Anthony Hamilton | John Huggins | Pierre Lorillard IV | 5.5 F | 1:08.40 | $2,010 |
| 1893 | Longdale | 2 | John Lamley | John S. Campbell | Jacob Ruppert Jr. | 5.5 F | 1:08.80 | $1,725 |
| 1892 | Bellegarde | 2 | Willie Simms | James G. Rowe Sr. | Blemton Stable | 5.5 F | 1:09.00 | $1,935 |
| 1891 | King Cadmus | 2 | Fred Taral | William C. Smith | George E. Smith | 5.5 F | 1:09.40 | $2,030 |
| 1890 | Gascon | 2 | Monk Overton | John H. Morris | Bashford Manor Stable | 5.5 F | 1:10.00 | $2,370 |
| 1889 | Magnate | 2 | George Anderson | James G. Rowe Sr. | August Belmont Sr. | 5.5 F | 1:09.20 | $2,415 |
| 1888 | Sluggard | 2 | George Taylor | Barney Riley | David D. Withers | 6 F | 1:14.40 | $1,805 |
| 1887 | Geraldine | 2 | Mike Kelly | Matthew M.Allen | Maltese Villa Stable (R. Porter Ashe) | 6 F | 1:15.00 | $2,000 |