 Thoroughbred racing at Sheepshead Bay track c.1905 jam-packed with fans, even on the roof. | |
 Interactive map of Sheepshead Bay Race Track | |
| Location | Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York, United States |
|---|---|
| Owned by | Coney Island Jockey Club |
| Date opened | June 19, 1880 (145 years ago) (1880-06-19)[1] |
| Course type | Flat &Steeplechase |
TheSheepshead Bay Race Track was an AmericanThoroughbred horse racing facility built on the site of the Coney Island Jockey Club atSheepshead Bay inBrooklyn, New York.
The racetrack was built by a group of prominent businessmen from the New York City area who formed the Coney Island Jockey Club in 1879. Led byLeonard Jerome,James R. Keene, and the track's president,William Kissam Vanderbilt, the Club held seasonal race cards at nearbyProspect Park fairgrounds until construction of the new race course was completed. On June 19, 1880 the track hosted its first day ofThoroughbred racing.[2]
Old maps and railroad track diagrams for theManhattan Beach Branch of theLong Island Rail Road showing the spur that served both the club and the racetrack indicates the entrance to the club was located on the east side ofOcean Avenue between Avenues X and Y.[3][4] The Sheepshead Bay Race Track station contained six tracks and threeisland platforms.[5]
| Preceding station | Long Island Rail Road | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neck Road Terminus | Manhattan Beach Branch Racetrack spur | Terminus | ||
In its first year of operations, the new Sheepshead Bay track hosted a 1½ milematch race between two of the top horses racing at the time in the United States. TheDwyer Brothers'Luke Blackburn was ridden byJim McLaughlin, andPierre Lorillard'sUncas was ridden byTom Costello. Luke Blackburn won by twenty lengths.[6]
Sheepshead Bay had both a dirt and aturf course.
Principal backers were:
The new Sheepshead Bay Race Track's premier event was theSuburban Handicap, first run on June 10, 1884 and conceived by James G. K. Lawrence, who became the track's president.[7] Four years later Lawrence would also create theFuturity Stakes, first run onLabor Day in 1888. At the time, the Futurity was the richest race ever run in the United States.[8][9] Today, both the Suburban and the Futurity are ongoingGraded stakes races held at theBelmont Park racetrack inElmont onLong Island. TheLawrence Realization Stakes was named for James G. K. Lawrence.
On June 10, 1886 the Coney Island Jockey Club opened the firstturf racecourse in the United States. The Club replaced the Sheepshead Baysteeplechase course with a one-mileturf course, built inside the existing main dirt track. The Green Grass Stakes was the first race on turf and was run as part of the June 10 opening day program. A race for three-year-old horses, it was contested at a distance of a mile and an eighth and was won by Emory & Cotton'sDry Monopole in a time of 157.00.[10]
In 1908, the administration ofGovernorCharles Evans Hughes signed into law theHart–Agnew bill that effectively banned all racetrackbetting in thestate of New York. The legislation allowed forfines and up to a year in prison which was strictly enforced.[11][12]
Compounding matters for the Sheepshead Bay track was intense competition. In a summary of 1909 racing, theDaily Racing Form reported that "Sheepshead Bay, which for years led the country in daily average distribution, yielded first place in 1909 to Belmont Park, whichAugust Belmont and his associates are ambitious to make the "turf headquarters of America"."[13] A 1910 amendment to the Hart–Agnew legislation added further restrictions that made the owners and directors of a racetrackpersonally liable for any betting done on their premises, with or without their consent. Such an onerous liability was intolerable and meant that by 1911 all racetracks in the state ceased operations.[14] Although a February 21, 1913 ruling by theNew York Supreme Court, Appellate Division paved the way for racing to resume that year, by then it was too late for horse racing at the Sheepshead Bay Race Track and it was ultimately sold to the Sheepshead Bay Speedway Corporation who used it for automobile racing.[15][16]
In December 1919, what theDaily Racing Form called one of the most famous racetracks in the history of the American turf, was purchased forreal estate development. The facility was torn down and the land subdivided into buildinglots.[17]
Stakes race titles[18]
Ŧ One of the three Sheepshead Bay Autumn Serials.
In 1959, theSheepshead Bay Handicap was named in honor of the old racetrack, and first run at the now-defunctJamaica Race Course inJamaica, New York. It, too, is currently held at Belmont Park.
The new owner converted the horse track to aboard automobile race track. Several auto races were held from October 1915, through September 1919, including theAstor Cup Race and theHarkness Trophy Race. The Sheepshead Bay Speedway Corporation ran into financial difficulties following the death of its majority shareholderHarry Harkness in January 1919. The property was sold in 1923 forresidential real estate development.[19] No trace of the racetrack can be found today.
Other defunct New York race tracks:
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| National | |
40°35′32″N73°56′50″W / 40.59222°N 73.94722°W /40.59222; -73.94722
