| Class | Discontinued stakes |
|---|---|
| Location | Sheepshead Bay Race Track Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn,New York |
| Inaugurated | 1880–1910 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred –Flat racing |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1 mile (8 furlongs) |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Track | left-handed |
| Qualification | Three-year-old fillies |
TheMermaid Stakes was an AmericanThoroughbred horse race run annually atSheepshead Bay Race Track inSheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. An important event for three-year-old fillies, the race was run on dirt over a distance of one mile and one furlong until 1910 when it was set at one mile.[1]
First run in 1880, there was no race from 1895 through 1901. During the twenty-four years the race was held, it was won by eightChampions of which four would be elected to theNational Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. The final running in 1910 was won byLily Livingston's Amelia Jenks in a major upset overOcean Bound, the undefeated 1909American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly.[2]
On June 11, 1908, theRepublican controlledNew York Legislature underGovernorCharles Evans Hughes passed theHart–Agnew anti-betting legislation with penalties allowing forfines and up to a year in prison.[3] The owners of Sheepshead Bay Race Track, and other racing facilities in New York State, struggled to stay in business without betting.[4] Racetrack operators had no choice but to drastically reduce thepurse money being paid out which by 1909 saw the Mermaid Stakes offering a purse that was as little as one-third of what it had been in earlier years.[5] Further restrictive legislation was passed by the New York Legislature in 1910 which deepened the financial crisis for track operators and led to a complete shut down of racing across the state during 1911 and 1912. When a Court ruling saw racing return in 1913 it was too late for the Sheepshead Bay horse racing facility and it never reopened.
Champions who won the Mermaid Stakes:
Speed record:
Most wins by ajockey:
Most wins by atrainer:
Most wins by an owner: