TheWhitney Stakes (run as theWhitney Handicap through 2013 and still sometimes referred to as such) is an AmericanGrade 1 stakes race forThoroughbredracehorses four years of age and older run at a distance of1+1⁄8 miles. The current purse is $1,000,000.^[1]

Held annually in late July/early August at theSaratoga Race Course inSaratoga Springs, New York, the race is named for theWhitney family, whose members were and remain prominent participants and supporters of the sport ofThoroughbred horse racing.^[2]

The Whitney Stakes is administered by theNew York Racing Association.

Named after the family that for generations has had so much to do with racing at Saratoga, the Whitney Handicap was first run in 1928. TheWhitney family’s involvement with thoroughbreds began whenWilliam Collins Whitney, one of the founders of The Jockey Club, began campaigning racehorses in 1898, bearing the familiar Eton blue-and-brown silks. His legacy was carried on by his son,Harry Payne Whitney, and grandson,Cornelius Vanderbilt “Sonny” Whitney, who died in 1992, with other family members involved under various names including Greentree Stables. Whitney-owned horses have won every major race in the United States including multiple wins at theKentucky Derby, thePreakness Stakes, and theBelmont Stakes.^[3]

The Whitney was raced at a distance of1+1⁄4 miles from its inception in 1928 until 1955, when the distance was reduced to1+1⁄8 miles. Until 1940 it was closed togeldings. The inaugural running was won byWilliam R. Coe's two-timeChampion Filly,Black Maria. During World War II, the race was run atBelmont Park from 1943 through 1945, and again once in 1961. Between 1957 and 1969 the race was restricted to horses four years and older. The race then was open to three-year-olds and older until 2019. In 2020 when Saratoga Race Course was closed to the public during theCOVID-19 pandemic, the race was restricted again to four-year-olds and up; the age restriction has remained ever since.^[4]

Some of the greatest horses in American racing history have won the Whitney, includingEasy Goer,Tom Fool,Dr. Fager,Stymie,Invasor,Slew o' Gold,Alydar,Ancient Title,Key to the Mint,Devil Diver,Eight Thirty,War Admiral,Discovery,Equipoise andKelso, who won it for the third time in 1965 at the age of eight. The race also saw one of the most dramatic upsets in racing history whenSecretariat finished second in the 1973 Whitney toAllen Jerkens's colt,Onion. Sixfillies have won the race: Black Maria (1928), Bateau (1929), Esposa (1937),Gallorette (1948),Lady's Secret (1986), andPersonal Ensign (1988).

In 2007, theBreeders' Cup Ltd. introduced theBreeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" qualification format, under which the winner of the Whitney Stakes automatically qualifies for the fall running of theBreeders' Cup Classic.

In the 2015 listing of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), the Whitney tied with theKentucky Derby as the top Grade 1 race in the United States outside of theBreeders' Cup races.^[5]

Speed record:

• 1+1⁄8 miles – 1:46.64 –Lawyer Ron (2007)
• 1+1⁄4 miles – 2:02.00 –Devil Diver (1944) &Bolingbroke (1943)

Most wins:

• 3 –Kelso (1961, 1963, 1965)
• 3 –Discovery (1934, 1935, 1936)

Most wins by an owner:

• 6 –Greentree Stable (1931, 1942, 1944, 1951, 1953, 1958)

Most wins by ajockey:

• 5 –Pat Day (1986, 1987, 1989, 1995, 1998)
• 5 –Jerry Bailey (1992, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003)

Most wins by atrainer:

• 5 –John M. Gaver Sr. (1942, 1944, 1951, 1953, 1958)

• Horse races in New York (state)
• Open mile category horse races
• Grade 1 stakes races in the United States
• Breeders' Cup Challenge series
• Saratoga Race Course
• Recurring sporting events established in 1928
• Whitney family
• 1928 establishments in New York (state)

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata