Gravesend Race Track at

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Rochester, it is ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York was a

Thoroughbred horse racing 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 ...

facility that opened in 1886 and closed in 1910. The track was built by the Brooklyn Jockey Club with the backing of

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who populariz ...

and

Michael Dwyer Michael Dwyer (1772–1825) was an insurgent captain in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, leading the United Irish forces in battles in Wexford and Wicklow., Following the defeat and dispersal of the rebel hosts, in July 1798 Dwyer withdrew into ...

, two wealthy racing stable owners known as the Dwyer Brothers.

, the controlling shareholder of the Brooklyn Jockey Club, served as its president. Gravesend Race Track hosted 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 Graded stakes race, Grade I race run over a distance of ...

for fifteen years.

History

Opened on August 26, 1886, its first executive board consisted of: * Col. William L. Scott *

James Ben Ali Haggin James Ben Ali Haggin (December 9, 1822 – September 12, 1914) was an American attorney, rancher, investor, art collector, and a major owner and breeder in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing. Haggin made a fortune in the aftermath of the C ...

* Michael F. Dwyer * Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin * Capt. Samuel S. Brown The facility covered an area which extended from McDonald Avenue (then Gravesend Avenue) to Ocean Parkway, and from Kings Highway to

Avenue U Avenue U is a commercial street located in Brooklyn, New York, United States. This avenue is a main thoroughfare throughout its length. Avenue U begins at Stillwell Avenue in Gravesend and ends at Bergen Avenue in Bergen Beach, while serving the ...

. This land had previously been occupied by the Prospect Park Fair Grounds, a slightly smaller and far more modest race course which had been used for

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Austral ...

. The facility was enclosed by a twelve-foot wooden fence and boasted an ornate two-story "double decker" grand stand of yellow Georgia pine with a bar and restaurant built into its brick base. A spur was created that allowed trains running along the Prospect Park & Coney Island railroad line to stop within the facility and discharge passengers at a small station that led directly to the grand stand via a covered walkway. At the southern end of the facility stood the offices of the Brooklyn Jockey Club, as well as the dressing rooms for the jockeys. The northern end was occupied by the betting pavilion and carriage sheds. The eastern side, which ran along the tree-lined boulevard of Ocean Parkway (where impromptu training races often took place), was occupied by the clubhouse. During its time, the racetrack executive included superintendent Ben Brush in whose honor the future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame horse Ben Brush was named. Among the major

graded stakes race A graded stakes race is a thoroughbred horse race in the United States that meets the criteria of the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA). A specific grade level (I, II, III or listed) is th ...

s launched at the track were 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 increase ...

Brooklyn Handicap The Brooklyn Invitational Stakes (formerly known as the Brooklyn Handicap) is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, on Long Island. It currently is a Grade II event open to four-year ...

Brooklyn Derby The Dwyer Stakes is an American Grade III stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred racehorses held annually at Belmont Park racetrack in Elmont, Long Island, New York. Run in early July, it is open to three-year-old horses and is raced over a ...

Tremont Stakes The Tremont Stakes is a Listed American Thoroughbred horse race run annually for two-year-olds over the distance of 5½ furlongs on the dirt in early June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The event carries a purse of US$150,000. History First ...

, and the Gazelle Handicap. For the fifteen years from 1894 through 1908, Gravesend Race Track hosted one of the

American Classic Races In the United States, the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, commonly known as the Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for three-year-old Thoroughbreds, consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. The three r ...

, the

. In 1908, the administration of

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Charles Evans Hughes Charles Evans Hughes Sr. (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American statesman, politician and jurist who served as the 11th Chief Justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the ...

signed into law the Hart–Agnew bill that effectively banned all racetrack

betting Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three elem ...

in New York State. A 1910 amendment to the legislation added further restrictions that meant by 1911 all racetracks in the state ceased operations. Although the law was repealed in time to resume racing in 1913, the Gravesend Race Track never reopened and the land was eventually sold to

real-estate developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. R ...

s in 1920. Today, the annual

Gravesend Handicap The Gravesend Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York late in the year. In its 61st running in December 2017, the Gravesend was downgraded from a Grade III event to ungraded status. This rac ...

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

honors the former racing facility.

Thoroughbred stakes races at Gravesend Race Track

Flat races

* Albemarle Stakes *

* Bedford Stakes *

Broadway Stakes The Broadway Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually from 1897 thru 1910 at Gravesend Race Track in Gravesend, New York. A race for three-year-old horses of either sex, it was contested on dirt over a distance of a mile and ...

* Brookdale Handicap *

* Carlton Stakes * Clover Stakes *

Criterion Stakes The Criterion Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), ...

Culver Handicap Culver may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Culver Down, Isle of Wight United States *Culver, Indiana, a town in northern Indiana * Culver, Kansas, a city in north-central Kansas * Culver, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Culver, Miss ...

* Expectation Stakes * Flatlands Stakes *

First Special Stakes The First Special Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run between 1886 and 1909 at Gravesend Race Track in Gravesend, on Coney Island, New York. The race was run on dirt at a distance of one and one-quarter miles and was open to horses ...

Second Special Stakes The Second Special Stakes was a Thoroughbred horse race run between 1886 and 1907 at Gravesend Race Track in Gravesend, on Coney Island, New York. The race was run on dirt at a distance of one and one half miles in its last nine runnings and was o ...

* Gazelle Handicap *

Great American Stakes The Great American Stakes is a discontinued American Thoroughbred horse race last run annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Raced on dirt and open to two-year-old horses only, it was last run at a distance of five and a half furlongs. Hi ...

* Hanover Stakes * Holly Stakes *

Hudson Stakes The Hudson Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race first run in 1887 at Gravesend Race Track in Gravesend, New York. A race for two-year-old horses of either sex, it was run on dirt over a distance of five furlongs. The Hudson Stakes ca ...

* Junior Champion Stakes * Manhanset Stakes * Myrtle Stakes *

Occidental Handicap The Occidental Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually from 1899 through 1909 at Gravesend Race Track, Gravesend, Brooklyn, New York. A race for horses of either sex age three and older, it was contested on dirt over a dista ...

* Oriental Handicap * Parkway Handicap * Patchogue Stakes *

* Prospect Handicap * Seabreeze Stakes * Speculation Stakes * Standard Stakes *

* Willow Handicap

Steeplechase races

* Greater New York Steeplechase Handicap * Hitchcock Steeplechase Handicap

Other defunct New York race tracks

* Brighton Beach Race Course *

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 fea ...

Jerome Park Racetrack 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 Sta ...

Morris Park Racecourse Morris Park Racecourse was an American Thoroughbred horse race, 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 neighb ...

Roosevelt Raceway Roosevelt Raceway was a race track located just outside the village of Westbury on Long Island, New York. Initially created as a venue for motor racing, it was converted to a ½-mile harness racing facility (the actual circumference was 100 fee ...

Sheepshead Bay Race Track 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. Early history The racetrack was built by a group of prominent businessmen from the New Y ...

Union Course Union Course was a horse racing course in what is now Woodhaven, Queens, in New York City. It hosted some of the most famous horse races in American history, including the 1823 match between American Eclipse and Sir Henry. The track was located ...

References

External links

Video from the Library of Congress of the 1904 Brooklyn Handicap at Gravesend Race Track
{{Coord, 40, 36, 04, N, 73, 58, 10, W , display=title Defunct horse racing venues in New York City Sports venues in Brooklyn Gravesend, Brooklyn 1886 establishments in New York (state) 1911 disestablishments in New York (state) Sports venues completed in 1886