The Amsterdam Stakes is a Grade II 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 ...

for three-year-old horses over the distance of

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 hor ...

s on the dirt, scheduled annually in August at

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 actu ...

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...

. The event currently carries a purse of $200,000.

History

The event was inaugurated at Belmont Park on 17 July 1993 as the Screen King Stakes and was run over a distance of seven furlongs and the winner Evil Bear was ridden by United States' Racing Hall of Fame jockey José A. Santos in a time of 1:22.09. The event honored Screen King who had won his first four races including the Grade III Swift Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack. The following year the event moved to Saratoga and the distance was decreased to six furlongs and split into two divisions. In 1998 the event was renamed for

Amsterdam, New York Amsterdam is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Montgomery County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 18,219. The city is named after Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The City of Amste ...

, a town about 26 miles from Saratoga Springs in

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...

. That same year the race was upgraded to a Grade III and was run in split divisions. In 2001 the event was upgraded to Grade II. Of the notable winners of this event are 1996 winner

Distorted Humor Distorted Humor (foaled March 19, 1993 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse and a successful sire. Bloodline Distorted Humor's sire is Forty Niner, 1987's Eclipse Award winning Outstanding Two-Year-Old Male Horse by the champio ...

who much later on in 2011 became Leading sire in North America and in 2017 the

Leading broodmare sire in North America The list below shows the leading Thoroughbred sire of broodmares in North America for each year since 1924. This is determined by the amount of prize money won during the year by racehorses which were foaled by a daughter of the sire. The most ...

. In 2009

Quality Road Quality Road (foaled March 23, 2006, in Virginia) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Background Quality Road was bred and owned by Edward P. Evans. He was sired by Elusive Quality, who also sired 2004 Kentucky Derby/Preakness Stakes winne ...

resumed after injury after winning the

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Florida Derby The Florida Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Since 2005, it has been run five weeks before the Kentucky Derby, which is held on the first Sat ...

missing all three legs of the U.S. Triple Crown series and winning the event in track record time of 1:13.74 breaking Saratoga's 30-year track record. An earlier edition of the Amsterdam Stakes was run at Saratoga from 1901 through at least 1915 that was open to horses age three and older.

Records

Speed record: * furlongs: 1:13.74 –

(2009) *6 furlongs: 1:08.50 – Yaupon (2020) Margins: * lengths – Shancelot (2019) Most wins by an owner: * 2 – Lewis G. Lakin (In partnership) (2001, 2002) Most wins by a jockey: * 4 –

Pat Day Patrick Alan "Pat" Day (born October 13, 1953, in Brush, Colorado) is a retired American jockey. He is a four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991 a ...

(1995, 1996, 2000, 2002) * 4 -

Joel Rosario Joel Rosario (born January 14, 1985) is a Champion jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing, originally from the Dominican Republic. In the space of five weeks in 2013 he rode the winners of the Dubai World Cup and the Kentucky Derby. More rec ...

(2013, 2016, 2020, 2021) Most wins by a trainer: * 6 - Steven M. Asmussen (2004, 2005, 2015, 2020, 2021, 2022)

Winners

References

{{reflist, 2 Graded stakes races in the United States Grade 2 stakes races in the United States Open sprint category horse races Saratoga Race Course Horse races in New York (state) 1993 establishments in New York (state) Recurring sporting events established in 1993

History

Records

Winners

See also

References