Morris Park Racecourse was an American thoroughbred horse racing facility from 1889 to 1904. It was located in a part of Westchester County, New York that was annexed into the Bronx in 1895 and later developed as the neighborhood of Morris Park. The racecourse was the site of the Belmont Stakes from 1890 through 1904 as well as the Preakness Stakes in 1890.
Morris Park Racecourse was conceived and built by majority shareholder John Albert Morris as a result of the planned closure of the nearby Jerome Park Racetrack, where racing ended in 1894 to make way for the Jerome Park Reservoir. Principal owner John Morris had extensive business interests in Louisiana and the prominent New York businessman and horseracing enthusiast Leonard W. Jerome served as the racecourse's president. African-American Racing Hall of Fame jockey Isaac Murphy rode on opening day at the new facility—August 20, 1889—and Morris Park was described as "the finest race track in the world." [1] [2] Accessible by horse and buggy, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad added a short spur from its main line near the Van Nest station that brought racing fans directly to the new race track from the greater New York City area. [3]
The track held the USA Cross Country Championships from 1890 to 1892 and 1897 to 1898. [4]
On June 10, 1890, Morris Park Racecourse hosted both the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. [5] While the Preakness Stakes was canceled for three years then restarted in 1894 at Gravesend Race Track on Coney Island, the Belmont Stakes was held at Morris Park until it moved to Belmont Park on Long Island in 1905. During this same period of 1890 through 1904, the Champagne Stakes and the Ladies Handicap were also raced here. The Metropolitan Handicap was inaugurated here in 1891 as was the Matron Stakes the following year.
A few days before he died in May 1895, John Morris leased the racecourse, with an option to purchase, to the Westchester Racing Association. Although the 1½ mile racecourse was modified to a one-mile circuit to allow for better spectator viewing, a lack of patronage by high society members meant the clubhouse was usually empty. By 1902, the decline in attendance resulted in the decision to close Morris Park Racecourse. [6] The final day of races was held on October 15, 1904, and racing shifted to the new Belmont Park the following year. [7]
After its closure, the Morris Park Racecourse was used for automobile racing but a few years later the Morris heirs sold the property to real estate developers. The new owners ran into financial problems which resulted in the track being taken over by the City of New York in 1907. The city then leased it for two years to the Aeronautic Society of New York who hosted the first public air show on the grounds. In June 1909, Glenn H. Curtiss put on a flying exhibition at Morris Park. [8]
On April 10, 1910 a fire ravaged much of the stables and nearby facilities. [9] Three years later the property was auctioned off to developers who would subdivide the land into building lots. As late as 1921 the clubhouse was still intact when it was sold as part of a 14-lot package to a company who converted it for use as a factory to manufacture ornamental iron. [10]
Morris Park Racecourse was situated in the area bounded on the south by Sackett Avenue and by what is today the Amtrak Northeast Corridor railroad right-of-way, on the east by Williamsbridge Road, on the west by what is now Bronxdale Road, and on the north by Pelham Parkway. The grandstand stood at the intersection of Bogart and Fowler Avenues and the clubhouse was near the intersection of Fowler and Van Nest Avenues. [11] [12]
The racetrack covered 360 acres (1.5 km2) and had a grandstand 650 feet (200 m) long that could accommodate up to 15,000 attendees. The main track had circumference of 1+1⁄2 mi (2.4 km), with a stretch that was 2,250 feet (690 m) long and widened from 80 feet (24 m) at the top of the homestretch to 240 feet (73 m) at the finish line. The north end of the track was located on a hill so horses had to run uphill on the backstretch and downhill on the homestretch. A chute on the main track permitted races of 1+1⁄8 mi (1.8 km) to be run with one turn. Another track called the Eclipse course ran diagonally across the main track on a straightaway of 3⁄4 mi (1.2 km), joining the main track at its finish line. It was named after Eclipse, a horse owned by Francis Morris. A six furlongs race on the Eclipse course was nicknamed the "Toboggan Slide" and continues to be run today at Aqueduct Racetrack as the Toboggan Handicap. The stables at Morris Park Racecourse held a total of 1,000 stalls, more than any two of the other American racetracks combined. [3] [13] [14]
Belmont Park is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, United States, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905, and is one of the major tracks in the northeastern United States.
The Matron Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the fall season at Belmont Park, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) track in Elmont, Long Island, New York. It is open to two-year-old fillies and is the filly counterpart to the Belmont Futurity Stakes.
The Withers Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three years old horses over the distance of 1+1⁄8 miles on the dirt scheduled annually in February at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. The event currently carries a purse of $250,000.
Gravesend Race Track at Gravesend in Brooklyn, New York was a Thoroughbred horse racing facility that opened in 1886 and closed in 1910. The track was built by the Brooklyn Jockey Club with the backing of Philip and Michael Dwyer, two wealthy racing stable owners known as the Dwyer Brothers. Philip, the controlling shareholder of the Brooklyn Jockey Club, served as its president.
The Toboggan Stakes, formerly the Toboggan Handicap, is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the first week of March at Aqueduct Race Track in Queens, New York. Open to horses aged three and older, the Grade III event is contested over at a distance of six furlongs on the dirt and offers a purse of $150,000 added.
Sheepshead Bay Race Track was an American Thoroughbred horse racing facility built on the site of the Coney Island Jockey Club at Sheepshead Bay, New York.
Belmar was an American Thoroughbred racehorse owned by James Galway's Preakness Stables of Preakness, New Jersey.
The Ladies Stakes is a historic American Thoroughbred horse race for Fillies and Mares four years of age and older held annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. Inaugurated at the Jerome Park Racetrack in 1868, it is the oldest stakes race in the United States exclusively for fillies and mares. An unlisted stakes race, it is currently run on or about New Year's Day and offers a purse of $100,000.
Jerome Park Racetrack was an American thoroughbred horse racing facility from 1866 until 1894. It was located in a part of Westchester County, New York that was annexed into the Bronx in 1874. Jerome Park Racetrack was the home of the Belmont Stakes from 1867 until 1889. Today, Jerome Park is the name of a neighborhood adjoining the Jerome Park Reservoir, Bedford Park and Norwood in the northern Bronx.
Bowling Brook was a British-bred American-trained Thoroughbred racehorse.
Omar Khayyam (1914–1938) was a British-born Thoroughbred racehorse who was sold as a yearling to an American racing partnership and who became the first foreign-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He was named for the famous Persian mathematician, poet, and astronomer, Omar Khayyam.
Jean-Luc Samyn is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing.
Lemhi Gold was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. In 1982, he was voted American Champion Older Male Horse at the Eclipse Awards after a season in which he won the Marlboro Cup and the Jockey Club Gold Cup.
The Freehold Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early August at the Monmouth Park Association's racetrack in Long Branch, New Jersey. Inaugurated in 1879, the Champion Stakes was open to horses of any age and was raced on dirt over a distance of one and one half miles.
The New Rochelle Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race first run at a distance of seven furlongs on dirt in 1899 at Morris Park Racecourse in The Bronx. When that racetrack closed in 1904 the race was transferred to Belmont Park in Elmont, New York where it remained through 1910 until further restrictions were added to the Hart–Agnew Law by the New York Legislature that ended all racing in New York State. Although racing returned in 1913, the New Rochelle Handicap was not run again until 1918 when the Empire Racing Association revived it at its Empire City Race Track in Yonkers, New York. The 1923 race was transferred to Belmont Park. In 1943, the race was moved to the Empire Racing Association's Jamaica Race Course in Jamaica, New York which closed on August 2, 1959.
John Albert Morris was an American businessman widely known as the "Lottery King" and a prominent figure in the sport of thoroughbred horse racing. A native of New Jersey, he benefited from a large inheritance and added substantially to his fortune through a majority interest in the Louisiana State Lottery Company.
Old England (1899–1908) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1902 Preakness Stakes. Owned and trained by Green B. Morris, he was sired by Goldfinch. Old England was out of the mare Queen Bess, a daughter of Marden.
The Laureate Stakes was a race for two-year-old Thoroughbred horses run at Morris Park Racecourse in Westchester County, New York from inception in 1896 through 1904. The racecourse was located in a part of Westchester County, New York that was annexed into the Bronx in 1895 and later developed as the neighborhood of Morris Park.
The Nursery Stakes/Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run in New York State for the first time on October 1, 1866 at Jerome Park Racetrack. Following the closure of that track after New York City had announced its decision to build the Jerome Park Reservoir on the property, the race was taken over by the Morris Park Racecourse. When that track closed after the 1904 running, it was transferred to Belmont Park where it would remain until its final running on September 27, 1938.
Burlington was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1890 Belmont Stakes.
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