The Matron Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the fall season 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 ...

, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) track in

Elmont Elmont may refer to: Places In the United States *Elmont, Missouri * Elmont, New York **Elmont station, a Long Island Rail Road station in Elmont, New York *Elmont, Virginia Fictional people *Elmont (Doonesbury), a character in the Doonesbury comi ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. It is open to two-year-old fillies and is the filly counterpart to the Belmont Futurity Stakes. The Matron Stakes was run over a straight course before 1959, with the exception of 1941. Always a race for two-year-old horses, it has been run under different conditions four times: * 1892–1901 : on dirt, open to both colts and fIllies * 1902–1914 : on dirt, a division for colts and geldings and a division for fillies * 1915–2017 : on dirt, for fillies only * 2018–present : on turf, for fillies only The inaugural race took place at Morris Park Racecourse in The Bronx,

where it remained until 1905 when it was moved to the new Belmont Park. Through special arrangements, in 1910 it was hosted by Pimlico Race Course in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

. The NYRA'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 ...

hosted the event in 1960 and again from 1962 to 1968. There was no race held from 1895 to 1898 and as a result of the passage of New York state's

Hart–Agnew Law The Hart–Agnew Law was an anti- gambling bill passed into law by the Legislature of the State of New York on June 11, 1908. It was an amalgam of bills enacted as Chapter 506 and 507 which were sponsored by conservative Assemblyman Merwin K. ...

that banned

parimutuel wagering Parimutuel betting or pool betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vigorish" are deducted, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winnin ...

, from 1911 to 1913. The race was placed on hiatus from 1915 to 1922. When it was revived in 1923 as part of the Belmont Park schedule, the Matron was won by 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 ...

filly Tree Top who beat twelve other competitors. Runnerup

Nellie Morse Nellie Morse (1921–1941) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the fourth filly to win the Preakness Stakes. After her retirement from racing, she became a successful and influential broodmare. Background Her sire was Lu ...

went on to win the 1924 Preakness Stakes and earn American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly honors. The third-place finisher, Princess Doreen, would have a career that saw her win three

National Championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, i ...

and induction into the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Av ...

. In 2001 the race was cancelled in observance of the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

on the World Trade Center in New York City.

Records

Speed record: (At distance of 7 furlongs) * 1:22.80 – Meadow Star (1990) 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 ...

: * 6 –

Ángel Cordero Jr. Ángel Tomás Cordero Jr. (born: November 8, 1942) is one of the leading Thoroughbred horse racing jockeys of the late 20th-century and the first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the United States' Racing Hall of Fame. He led all jockeys in win ...

(1974, 1980, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991) Most wins by a trainer: * 9 –

D. Wayne Lukas Darrell Wayne Lukas (born September 2, 1935 in Antigo, Wisconsin) is an American horse trainer and a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. He has won twenty Breeders' Cup races, received five Eclipse Awards for his accomplishments, and his horses ha ...

(1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2005) Most wins by an owner: * 7 – H. P. Whitney (1905 (2), 1907, 1909, 1910, 1926, 1929)

Winners

* † In 1994, Flanders finished first but was disqualified. * †† In 1947,

Bewitch Bewitch (1945–1959) was a Thoroughbred race horse born in 1945 at Calumet Farm, Kentucky, United States in the same crop in which the stallion Bull Lea produced Citation and Coaltown. Each of them was eventually inaugurated into the Thoroughbr ...

finished first but was disqualified.

References

{{reflist 1892 establishments in New York (state) Horse races in New York (state) Belmont Park Morris Park Racecourse Flat horse races for two-year-old fillies Graded stakes races in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1892