The Astarita Stakes was an American

Thoroughbred horse race Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

run between 1946 and 2005 at New York's

Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park, Queens, South Ozone Park and Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack locate ...

South Ozone Park, Queens South Ozone Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens. It is just north of John F. Kennedy International Airport, between Aqueduct Racetrack to the west and the Van Wyck Expressway to the east. Adja ...

and at

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

in Elmont. Open to two-year-old

fillies A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

, it was a sprint race contested on dirt over a distance of six and a half

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

s. It offered a purse of $100,000. The Astarita was given Grade III stakes status in 1973 when a grading system was instituted at all racetracks in North America. In 1981 it was elevated to a Grade II event before being downgraded in 2004 to its original Grade III which was maintained until the race was dropped from the schedule in 2006. In 1955 the Greater New York Association took over management of Belmont Park, Aqueduct Racetrack,

Jamaica Race Course Jamaica Race Course, also called the Jamaica Racetrack, was an American thoroughbred horse racing facility operated by the Metropolitan Jockey Club in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. History The track opened on April 27, 1903, a day which featu ...

and the

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actua ...

. Massive renovations led to the subsequent closure of Aqueduct Racetrack for four years and there was no Astarita Stakes run for the three years between 1958 and 1960. The race was named for Astarita, John Follansbee's filly who won the 1902 inaugural running of the

Astoria Stakes The Astoria Stakes is a long-lived race for two-year-old Thoroughbred fillies run at Belmont Park in early June during the Belmont Stakes carnival. Originally set at a distance of five furlongs, beginning in the year 1940, the event was increased ...

at the now defunct

Gravesend Race Track 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 raci ...

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

, New York City. The Astarita Stakes was run at: * Aqueduct Racetrack: 1946–1955, 1962–1966, 1993–1994, 1997 * Belmont Park: 1956–1957, 1961 It was contested at various distances: * 6 furlongs : 1946–1956 * 6.5 furlongs : 1972–1994, 1997–2005 * 7 furlongs : 1957–1971, 1996 * 8 furlongs : 1995 The Astarita was run in two divisions in 1965, 1968 and 1972.

Historical notes

The first running of the Astarita Stakes took place at Aqueduct on September 21, 1946. It was won by Keynote, a strawberry roan filly owned by the

Wheatley Stable Wheatley Stable was the '' nom de course '' for the thoroughbred horse racing partnership formed by Gladys Mills Phipps and her brother, Ogden Livingston Mills. The horses were raised at Claiborne Farm near Paris, Kentucky. History Over the ye ...

and ridden by future

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to honour those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and Thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. It is located at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. The H ...

inductee

Hedley Woodhouse Hedley John Woodhouse (January 23, 1920 - December 29, 1984) was a Canadian jockey who won the New York state riding championship in 1953. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, he began his racing career there in 1937 at the Lansdowne Park racetrac ...

USN The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

Rear-Admiral Howard Adams Flanigan won the 1954 running of the Astarita with his good filly Two Stars. On the same

racecard A racecard is a printed card used in horse racing giving information about races, principally the horses running in each particular race. Racecards are often given in newspapers. Also known as a race book, which in this case is a small booklet ...

, future U. S. Racing Hall of Fame jockey

Ted Atkinson Theodore Frederick Atkinson (June 17, 1916 – May 5, 2005) was a Canadian-born American thoroughbred horse racing jockey, inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1957. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His sister was ...

reached a milestone in his career with his 3,000th win aboard the

Greentree Stable Greentree Stable, in Red Bank, New Jersey, was a major American thoroughbred horse racing stable and breeding farm established in 1914 by Payne Whitney of the Whitney family of New York City. Payne Whitney operated a horse farm and stable at Sar ...

colt Devastation. In 1955

Cosmah Cosmah (April 4, 1953 - 1979) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. While not known for her racing career, she is well known for being the dam of Tosmah and Halo, who were both top level race winners. Racing career Cosmah won the 1955 Astarit ...

captured the Astarita Stakes and in 1963 her daughter

Tosmah Tosmah (1961–1992) was a champion Thoroughbred race horse. She was the leading American filly of her generation at both two and three years of age. Background Tosmah was bred in Kentucky by Eugene Mori. Her sire was the great Tim Tam (horse ...

, a future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, also won it. The 1961 edition was won by

Cicada The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two ...

Christopher Chenery Christopher Chenery (September 16, 1886 – January 3, 1973) was an American engineer, businessman, and the owner/breeder of record for Thoroughbred horse racing's U.S. Triple Crown champion Secretariat. Early life and career Christopher C ...

's three-time National Champion and U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. In 1964 Queen Empress won by a nose but was disqualified to second for interference giving the win to runner-up I Deceive. In 2000 Extra Heat's win extended her career unbeaten streak to six. She would be voted the 2001

American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both ...

and in 2015 would be inducted into the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame. The final running of the Astarita Stakes took place on October 2, 2005. It was won by Sensation with

Eibar Coa Eibar Coa Monteverde (born February 15, in Venezuela) is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. Coa was born and raised in Venezuela A five-time Judo Champion in his teens, He attended jockey school from 1989 to 1991 then began his pr ...

aboard for owner Gary and Betty Biszantz's Cobra Farm and their partner, the Castletop Stable owned by Morton and Bobbi Topfer.

Records

Speed record: * 110.00 @ 6 furlongs –

Alanesian Alanesian (1954–1977) was an American Thoroughbred racing filly and successful broodmare. She was bred in Kentucky by E. Barry Ryan, a society Horse trainer, trainer and owner of Normandy Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. She was purchased privately ...

(1956) * 1:16.40 @ 6.5 furlongs – Stulcer (1974) * 1:22.60 @ 7 furlongs –

Syrian Sea The Levantine Sea (Arabic: بحر الشام, tr, Levanten Denizi, el, Θάλασσα του Λεβάντε) is the easternmost part of the Mediterranean Sea. Geography The Levantine Sea is bordered by Turkey in the north and north-east co ...

(1967) Most wins by a

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

: * 4 –

Ron Turcotte Ronald Joseph Morel "Ronnie" Turcotte, (born July 22, 1941) is a retired Canadian thoroughbred race horse jockey best known as the rider of Secretariat, winner of the U.S. Triple Crown in 1973. Career Turcotte began his career in Toronto as a h ...

(1965, 1968, 1970, 1973) Most wins by a trainer: * 2 –

Casey Hayes James Homer "Casey" Hayes (June 16, 1906 - June 25, 1980) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer whose horses won eight national Championship titles of which two were inducted in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. A native o ...

(1961, 1967) * 2 –

Charles P. Sanborn Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

(1964, 1982) * 2 –

Del W. Carroll Delmer W. Carroll (October 30, 1919 - May 9, 1982) was an American champion polo player, Thoroughbred racehorse owner/ trainer, and soldier during World War II. Biography Del Carroll had begun riding horses as a boy of ten which led to him servi ...

(1970, 1980) * 2 –

James A. Jerkens James A. Jerkens (born January 24, 1959 in Bay Shore, New York) is an American Thoroughbred horse trainer. His father, U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee H. Allen Jerkens, and brother, Steve Jerkens, are also trainers. Background Jerkens fathe ...

(1997, 1999) Most wins by an owner: * 2 –

(1946, 1966) * 2 –

Pin Oak Stable Josephine Avalona Abercrombie (January 15, 1926 – January 5, 2022) was an American horsewoman, businesswoman, boxing promoter, philanthropist, and founder of The Lexington School in Lexington, Kentucky. Early life and education Abercrombie was ...

(1953, 1992) * 2 –

Meadow Stable Christopher Chenery (September 16, 1886 – January 3, 1973) was an American engineer, businessman, and the owner/breeder of record for Thoroughbred horse racing's U.S. Triple Crown champion Secretariat. Early life and career Christopher C ...

(1961, 1967) * 2 –

Harbor View Farm Louis Elwood Wolfson (January 28, 1912 – December 30, 2007) was an American financier, a convicted felon, and one of the first modern corporate raiders, labeled by ''Time'' as such in a 1956 article.Smart Deb Smart Deb (foaled 1960) was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. Background Smart Deb was bred by Russell L. Reineman and raced under the name of his wife, Marion. She was trained by Arnold Winick. Racing career In 1962 Smart Deb had ...

won what would have been her eighth straight win had she not been disqualified for interference. * † In 1955 Dark Charger won but was disqualified to last.

External links

Belmont Park at the NYRA

References

{{reflist Discontinued horse races in New York (state) Belmont Park Aqueduct Racetrack Flat horse races for two-year-old fillies Graded stakes races in the United States 1946 establishments in New York City 2005 disestablishments in New York (state) Recurring sporting events established in 1946 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2005