| Class | Discontinued horse |
|---|---|
| Location | Garden State Park Racetrack Cherry Hill, New Jersey |
| Race type | Thoroughbred – Flat racing |
| Race information | |
| Distance | various |
| Surface | Dirt and Turf |
| Track | left-handed |
| Qualification | Two-years-old |
The Garden State Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in mid November at the now defunct Garden State Park Racetrack in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. A futurity event for two-year-olds, it is sometimes referred to as the Garden State Futurity. By 1956, the total purse offered was more than $300,000 (including all nomination and starting fees), making it the richest horse race in the world. [1]
The race was contested on dirt until 1994 when it was changed to a race on turf. It was raced at various distances:
In 1955, the racetrack created a counterpart for fillies called the Gardenia Stakes. [2]
The Garden State Stakes was placed on hiatus in 1973 and after a fire destroyed the racetrack on April 14, 1977 [3] it would not be run again until a new track was built by International Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. through its wholly owned subsidiary, Garden State Race Track, Inc. headed by Robert E. Brennan that opened on April 1, 1985. [4] The March 18, 2000 issue of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the Garden State Stakes had been cancelled for financial reasons. [5]