Keene Memorial Stakes

Last updated
Keene Memorial Stakes
Discontinued stakes race
Location Belmont Park,
Elmont, New York,
United States
Inaugurated1913
Race type Thoroughbred - Flat racing
Race information
Distance4.5 furlongs
SurfaceDirt
Trackleft-handed
QualificationTwo years old

The Keene Memorial Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run for twenty years from 1913 through 1932 at Belmont Park, in Elmont, New York. The race was created to honor James R. Keene who died on January 3, 1913. A Wall Street stockbroker, Keene was a major owner and breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses and would become one of the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame's Pillars of the Turf. [1] [2]

Contents

Historical notes

The distance for the first two editions of the Keene Memorial Stakes were set at six furlongs over the main course. Then, in 1915 the race was shortened to 5+1⁄2 furlongs and transferred to the track's straight course. In 1926 the distance was reduced to 4+1⁄2 furlongs.

Reflecting a recognition by stable owners of James R. Keene's place in Thoroughbred racing history, every single winner of the Keene Memorial Stakes during the twenty years it was run was owned by one of the Who's Who of that era.

The inaugural running of the Keene Memorial Stakes took place on July 5, 1913 and was won by the filly Stake and Cap. She was owned by the prominent Virginia businessman Thomas Fortune Ryan who raced under the nom de course Oak Ridge Stable. [3] [4]

The 1914 Keene Memorial was won by James Butler's filly Comely for whom the Comely Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack would be named. [5] [6] James R. Keene was the breeder of Comely and sold her in a package deal to James Butler who bought the entire 1912 crop produced by his Castleton Stud. [7]

The 1917 Keene Memorial Stakes was run in a heavy rainstorm and no time was recorded.

Just three days after winning his career debut the legendary Man o' War easily won the 1919 edition. [8]

The 1925 winner Friar's Carse went on to earn American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly honors.

In 1930, that year's American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt Equipoise would have a career that saw him earn at total of six National Championship honors including twice as the American Horse of the Year and become a National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame inductee. [9] [10]

The 1932 Keene Memorial Stakes was won by Sonny Whitney's colt Caterwaul who defeated ten other two-year-olds. [11]

By late fall of 1932 the Great Depression saw economic conditions worsening which forced the Westchester Racing Association, operators of Belmont Park, to eliminate five races. As a result, the May 14, 1932 race would prove to be the Keene Memorial's final running. [12]

Records

Speed record:

Most wins by a jockey:

Most wins by a trainer:

Most wins by an owner:

Winners

Year
Winner
Age
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Dist.
(Furlongs)		Time
Win$
1932Caterwaul2 Raymond Workman Thomas J. Healey Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney 4.5 F0:52.40$7,500
1931Fall Apple2 Alfred Robertson Fred Hopkins Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney 4.5 F0:54.80$7,075
1930 Equipoise 2 Raymond Workman Fred Hopkins Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney 4.5 F0:52.60$7,625
1929Mokatam2 Earl Steffen Sam Hildreth Rancocas Stable 4.5 F0:52.40$8,100
1928Simba2 Laverne Fator Sam Hildreth Rancocas Stable 5.5 F1:07.80$7,825
1927 Dice 2 Danny McAuliffe James E. Fitzsimmons Wheatley Stable 4.5 F0:52.00$7,575
1926Afterglow2 Linus McAtee James G. Rowe Sr. Harry Payne Whitney 4.5 F0:51.40$6,625
1925 Friar's Carse 2 Albert Johnson Gwyn R. Tompkins Glen Riddle Farm 5.5 F1:05.40$6,750
1924Laplander2 Linus McAtee William M. Garth Joshua S. Cosden 5.5 F1:07.20$5,577
1923Mint Briar2 Albert Johnson John I. Smith Willis Sharpe Kilmer 5.5 F1:05.40$6,050
1922Cherry Pie2 Lawrence Lyke Scott P. Harlan Greentree Stable 5.5 F1:05.40$6,200
1921William A2 Earl Sande Sam Hildreth Rancocas Stable 5.5 F1:05.20$6,525
1920 Tryster 2 Eddie Ambrose James G. Rowe Sr. Harry Payne Whitney 5.5 F1:05.60$5,150
1919 Man o' War 2 Johnny Loftus Louis Feustel Glen Riddle Farm 5.5 F1:05.60$4,200
1918Hannibal2 Willie Knapp Thomas J. Healey Richard T. Wilson Jr. 5.5 F1:05.00$6,850
1917Tracksend2 Johnny Loftus Walter B. Jennings A. Kingsley Macomber 5.5 F0:00.00$5,350
1916Ivory Black2 Frank Keogh John H. McCormack James Butler 5.5 F1:04.40$3,900
1915 Ormesdale 2 Joe McCahey Thomas J. Healey Richard T. Wilson Jr. 5.5 F1:05.00$2,325
1914 Comely 2John McCabeRichard C. Benson James Butler 6 F1:13.20$4,600
1913Stake and Cap2 Joe McCahey William M. Carter Oak Ridge Stable 6 F1:14.20$3,275

Related Research Articles

Equipoise (1928–1938) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career which lasted from 1930 until 1935, he ran fifty-one times and won twenty-nine races. A leading two-year-old in 1930, he missed most of the next season, including two of the three American Triple Crown races through injury and illness. "Ekky" returned to the track in 1934 and proved to be a dominant champion, winning numerous important stakes races in the next three years. Equipoise died in 1938 after a short but promising stud career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maskette</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Maskette (1906–1930) was an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse who never lost a race against other fillies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Pan (American horse)</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Peter Pan (1904–1933) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and sire, bred and raced by prominent horseman, James R. Keene. As winner of the Belmont Stakes, the Brooklyn Derby and the Brighton Handicap, he was later inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. His progeny included many famous American racehorses, including several winners of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.

Comely was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. She was bred by James R. Keene who sold her in a package deal to James Butler, owner of the Empire City Race Track. Butler had bought the entire 1912 crop produced by Keene's Castleton Stud.

The National Stallion Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race held sixty-two times between 1898 and 1971. Inaugurated as the National Stallion Race at Morris Park Racecourse in The Bronx, the event was open to horses of either sex until 1948 when it became a race exclusively for colts and geldings and a National Stallion Stakes was created. Contested on dirt at a distance of five furlongs, from 1905 onward it was hosted by Belmont Park in Elmont, New York except for 1963 through 1967 when it was run at Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens, New York.

The Great American Stakes is a discontinued American Thoroughbred horse race last run annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Raced on dirt and open to two-year-old horses only, it was last run at a distance of five and a half furlongs.

The Wilson Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run from 1930 through 1958. Inaugurated as the Wilson Stakes at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York, it was named in honor of the late Richard Thornton Wilson Jr., a prominent Thoroughbred owner and president of Saratoga Race Course.

Jamestown (1928–1953) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was bred and raced by George D. Widener Jr., an Exemplar of Racing described by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune newspaper as "one of thoroughbred racing's most respected horsemen."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delhi (horse)</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Delhi (1901–1925) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that won the 1904 Belmont Stakes. He was the top money-winner of 1904 and was consequently named the co-historical American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse with Ort Wells. The following year, he was also the historical American Champion Older Male Horse, co-champion once again with Ort Wells. While Delhi did have limited success in the stud, he is not considered to be an influential sire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luke McLuke</span> 20th-century American Thoroughbred racehorse

Luke McLuke was a bay Thoroughbred stallion born in the United States. He won the 1914 Belmont Stakes, the Carlton Stakes, Kentucky Handicap, and Grainger Memorial Handicap among his four wins from six starts. After his racing career was over, he became a breeding stallion, siring 11 stakes winners. Two of his daughters were named as year-end Champions in the United States.

The Fashion Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old fillies. Raced on dirt over a distance of five furlongs, it was run annually from 1889 through 2005. Inaugurated at Morris Park Racecourse in Westchester County, New York, when that facility closed in 1904 the race was run at Belmont Park and at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The Youthful Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old horses run between 1903 and 1982. It was raced on dirt at three different tracks in the New York City area beginning with the Jamaica and Aqueduct Racetracks, then in 1972 to Belmont Park where it remained until being canceled after the 1982 running. The inaugural edition in 1903 was won by Hazelwood with the race suspended until 1913.

The Vernal Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old fillies held annually at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. A race on dirt, in its first two editions of 1892 and 1893 the race was run at a distance of six furlongs and was open to horses of either sex. In 1894 it was changed to an event exclusively for fillies and was set at a distance of five furlongs.

The Belles Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually for two-year-old fillies from 1886 through 1908 at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Sheepshead Bay, New York. The race was run on dirt and for its final seven editions at a distance of 5+1⁄2 furlongs.

The Juvenile Stakes was a Thoroughbred horse race run for 109 years between 1874 and 1984. First run on June 13, 1874, it was an important part of Jerome Park's "Spring Meeting." The race was designed to show which were the top two-year-olds at that point in the calendar.

Disguise was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1900 Jockey Club Stakes in England but is best remembered for his success as a sire.

The Eastern Shore Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run between 1913 and 1949 at Havre de Grace Racetrack, in Havre de Grace, Maryland. A race for two-year-old horses of either sex, it was inaugurated and run for most of its existence as the Eastern Shore Handicap.

Court Dress was a two-time American National Champion Thoroughbred filly bred and raced by James R. Keene.

Voter was a Thoroughbred racehorse bred in England that competed in the United States where his racing success led to his selection as the American Champion Older Male Horse of 1899. When his racing career was over, Voter became an influential sire.

The Produce Stakes was an American Thoroughbred racing event run in two divisions from 1902 thru 1907 at Brighton Beach Race Course at Brighton Beach, New York.

References

  1. ↑ "Jockey Clubs Tribute to Mr. Keene". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1913-01-12. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  2. ↑ "James R. Keene". Racingmuseum.org. 2019-01-01. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  3. ↑ "Belmont Park Form Chart". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1913-07-06. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  4. ↑ "Stake For Thomas Fortune Ryan: Stake and Cap Carries Virginian's Colors to Victory in the Keene Memorial". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1913-07-06. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  5. ↑ "Comely Stakes". New York Racing Association. 2019-11-29. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  6. ↑ "Keene Memorial For A Keene Bred Filly". The Sun (New York City), page 17. 1914-06-14. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  7. ↑ "Castleton-Bred Two-Year-Olds That Won $70,000 for J. Butler". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1914-12-17. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  8. ↑ "Belmont Park Form Chart". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1919-06-10. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  9. ↑ The Bloodhorse.com Champion's history charts Archived September 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ "Equipoise". National Museum of Racing. Archived from the original on 2012-05-30. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
  11. ↑ "Daily Racing Form Charts: Belmont Park". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1932-05-16. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  12. ↑ "Abandon Keene Memorial". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1932-11-16. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.