The Damon Runyon Stakes is 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 ...

operated by the

New York Racing Association The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) is the not-for-profit corporation that operates the three largest Thoroughbred horse racing tracks in the state of New York, United States: Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens; Belmont Park i ...

(NYRA) at its Aqueduct Racetrack in

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. Ad ...

. First run in 1979, the annual event is currently contested on dirt over a distance of 7

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. Restricted to horses bred in New York State, it was usually run in the late fall or early winter and open for two-year-olds only until 2020. With no race in 2019, those two-year-olds who turned three in 2020 competed when it was run on March 15th. One of a series of NYRA races for New York-bred horses, it is an important part of maintaining the significant breeding industry in that state. The race is named for

Damon Runyon Alfred Damon Runyon (October 4, 1880 – December 10, 1946) was an American newspaperman and short-story writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. To N ...

, a famous sports reporter and short story writer who created a Broadway all his own during the Twenties and Thirties. From these stories came the musical ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also bo ...

''. Runyon loved horse racing and campaigned a small string of his own horses.

Historical notes

The Damon Runyon Stakes was raced on the

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricult ...

course in 1990, 1991 and 1993. It was hosted by the NYRA's Belmont Park in 1979 and again in 1983-84. The Inaugural running of the Damon Runyon took place at Belmont Park on October 15, 1979. The feature race of the day, it was won by the Assunta Louis Farm's colt Restrainor under jockey Ruben Hernandez. Leo O'Brien won this race three times but his 1990 win would come with the best horse he would ever train,

Fourstars Allstar Fourstars Allstar (April 5, 1988 – March 2005) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and sire, best known for his win in the Irish 2,000 Guineas. As a two-year-old in 1990 he showed promising form by winning the Pilgrim Stakes and the ...

. The following year the horse made history when owner Richard Bomze and his

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

-born trainer took the colt to Ireland where he won the May 18, 1991

Irish 2000 Guineas The Irish 2,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is ...

. Although a number of horses bred in the United States and owned by Americans had won top level races in Europe, no horse trained in the United States had ever won a European classic race.

Records

Speed record: * 1:22.40 @ 7 furlongs: Notebook (1987) * 1:42.78 @ 1 mile, 70 yards: Ibboye (2009) Most wins by a jockey: * 4 - Mike E. Smith (1990, 1992, 1993, 2006) * 4 - Aaron Gryder (1998, 2000, 2002, 2015) Most wins by a trainer: * 3 - Leo O'Brien (1990, 1993, 1994) * 3 - Gary Contessa (1997, 2002, 2015) * 3 - Rudy R. Rodriguez (2014, 2018, 2020) Most wins by an owner: * 2 - Assunta Louis Farm (Dominick J. Deluke) (1979, 1980) * 2 - Alfred G. Vanderbilt Jr. (1992, 1998) * 2 - Michael Dubb (2014, 2021)

Winners

References

{{reflist Horse races in New York (state) Turf races in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1979 1979 establishments in New York City Restricted stakes races in the United States