The Empire City Derby 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 ...

held annually from 1917 through 1933 at Empire City Race Track in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...

. A race for three-year-old horses of either sex, the event was contested at a mile and one-eighth at inception until 1920 when it was set at what became known as the "Derby distance" of a mile and one-quarter. With the Brooklyn Derby 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 ...

having changed its name to the Dwyer Stakes, the Empire City Derby was then the only Derby event in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...

Historical notes

First run on July 21, 1917, the race was won by Rickety, a colt trained by future

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

inductee

James G. Rowe Sr. James Gordon Rowe Sr. (1857 – August 2, 1929) was an American jockey and horse trainer elected to the Hall of Fame for Thoroughbred Horse racing. He won the Belmont Stakes twice as a jockey and 8 times as a trainer. He had 34 champion hors ...

Rickety was owned by

Harry Payne Whitney Harry Payne Whitney (April 29, 1872 – October 26, 1930) was an American businessman, thoroughbred horse breeder, and member of the prominent Whitney family. Early years Whitney was born in New York City on April 29, 1872, as the eldest son ...

, a leading horseman at the time and member of the prominent

Whitney family The Whitney family is an American family notable for their business enterprises, social prominence, wealth and philanthropy, founded by John Whitney (1592–1673), who came from London, England to Watertown, Massachusetts in 1635. The historic fa ...

who in 2018 was honored by the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame as one of the Pillars of the Turf. Whitney had won the 1915 Kentucky Derby with his Hall of Fame filly

Regret Regret is the emotion of wishing one had made a different decision in the past, because the consequences of the decision were unfavorable. Regret is related to perceived opportunity. Its intensity varies over time after the decision, in regard ...

and in addition to his 1917 Empire City Derby victory, Whitney would win the race again in 1920 and 1926. The 1918 edition of the Empire City Derby was won by Jack Hare Jr. who earlier had won the second division of the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...

in the only year in the history of that future U.S. Triple Crown race that it was run in two divisions.

Purchase Purchasing is the process a business or organization uses to acquire goods or services to accomplish its goals. Although there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary greatly between ...

, owned and trained by another future Hall of Fame inductee

Sam Hildreth Samuel Clay Hildreth (May 16, 1866 – September 24, 1929) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame trainer and owner.chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

son of Ormondale and the good

racemare Glossary of North American horse racing: Additional glossaries at: *Glossary of Australian and New Zealand punting *Glossary of equestrian terms This is a basic glossary of equestrian terms that includes both technical terminology and jargon ...

Cherryola was reported by noted racing historian

Walter Vosburgh Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 1 ...

as a horse referred to as the "''Adonis of the Turf''". In 1920, Harry Payne Whitney's

Wildair Wildair (foaled 1917 in Kentucky) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse bred and raced by Exemplar of Racing Harry Payne Whitney and trained by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, James Rowe Sr. Wildair's most important race win came in the ...

had come into the race having easily won the prestigious

Metropolitan Handicap The Metropolitan Handicap, frequently called the "Met Mile", is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of one mile (8 furl ...

at one mile. However, in the mile and an eighth

he ran third and the "Derby distance" might be too far for the colt. However, Wildair won the mile and a quarter Empire City Derby by a length and a half for owner Harry Payne Whitney and his trainer James G. Rowe Sr. Wildair would go on to become a successful sire and especially so through his daughters as the

damsire Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...

of several very good horses including

Pot O'Luck Pot O'Luck (1942) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse bred and raced by the renowned Calumet Farm of Lexington, Kentucky. He was sired by Chance Play, the 1927 retrospective American Horse of the Year and 1935 Leading sire in North America. O ...

and U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductees

Alsab Alsab (1939–1963) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. Background Alsab was bred in Kentucky by Thomas Piatt. His sire was Good Goods, and his dam was Winds Chant. Buyers were not interested in him, and Alsab was sold in 1940 ...

and Bewitch. Sam Hildreth won his second Empire City Derby in 1921 as the trainer of the

Rancocas Stable Rancocas Farm was an American thoroughbred horse racing stud farm and racing stable located on Monmouth Road ( County Road 537) in the Jobstown section of Springfield Township, Burlington County, New Jersey. Pierre Lorillard IV The farm was foun ...

star runner

Grey Lag Grey Lag (1918–1942) was a Thoroughbred race horse born in Kentucky and bred by John E. Madden. At his Hamburg Place near Lexington, Kentucky, Maddon had a good stallion called Star Shoot which he bred to all of his mares. Out of a failed r ...

who would earn retrospective American Horse of the Year honors for 1921 and in 1957 be inducted into the U. S. Racing Hall of Fame. For James Butler, owner of Empire City Race Track, the 1930 race was the most memorable of all for it was his very good colt

Questionnaire A questionnaire is a research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, ...

that gave him the first of his two Derby wins.

Demise

Thoroughbred racing had been dealt a severe blow with the 1908 passage of the Hart–Agnew anti-betting legislation by the

New York Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official t ...

which led to a state-wide shutdown of racing in 1911 and 1912. Owners, whose horses of racing age had nowhere to go, began sending them, their trainers and their jockeys to race in England and France. Many horses ended their racing careers there and a number remained to become an important part of the European

horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...

industry. '' Thoroughbred Times'' reported that more than 1,500 American horses were sent overseas between 1908 and 1913 and of them at least 24 were either past, present, or future

Champions A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the Victory, victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and w ...

. A February 21, 1913 ruling by the

New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division The Appellate Divisions of the Supreme Court of the State of New York are the intermediate appellate courts in New York State. There are four Appellate Divisions, one in each of the state's four Judicial Departments (e.g., the full title of the ...

saw horse racing return in 1913. The 1917 creation of the Empire City Derby symbolized the industry's recovery was gaining momentum but the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

of the 1930s reversed much of the gains as breeding and other necessary monetary cutbacks resulted in fewer horses available to compete. As such, in 1932 the purse money for the Empire City Derby was cut by 40 percent and the following year it was cut further by nearly 50 percent. What would turn out to be the race's final running took place on July 15, 1933 and was won by Balios, a colt owned by the

Phipps family The Phipps family of the United States is a prominent American family that descends from Henry Phipps Jr. (1839–1930), a businessman and philanthropist. His father was an English shoemaker who immigrated in the early part of the 19th century t ...

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 ...

Records

Speed record: * 2:06.20 @ 1¼ miles: Ordinance (1924) 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 ...

: * 3 –

Laverne Fator Laverne Andrew Fator (October 21, 1899 – May 16, 1936) was an American Hall of Fame jockey. Born in Hailey, Idaho, Laverne Fator and his brothers Mark and Elmer all became jockeys. The most successful of the three, Laverne Fator's riding ...

(1921, 1925, 1927) Most wins by a trainer: * 3 –

(1917, 1920, 1926) * 3 –

Sam Hildreth Samuel Clay Hildreth (May 16, 1866 – September 24, 1929) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame trainer and owner.James E. Fitzsimmons (1923, 1931, 1933) Most wins by an owner: * 3 –

(1917, 1920, 1926)

Winners

References

{{reflist 1917 establishments in New York (state) 1917 in sports in New York (state) 1934 disestablishments in New York (state) 1934 in sports in New York (state) Defunct sports competitions in the United States Empire City Race Track Flat horse races for three-year-olds Discontinued horse races in New York (state) Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1934 Recurring sporting events established in 1917 Sports competitions in New York (state)