The Monmouth Cup Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-years-old and older run over a distance of miles annually in early July at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey. The event currently offers a purse of $400,000 added.

History

The event was inaugurated as the Meadowlands Cup and held at the Meadowlands Racetrack on 29 October 1977 and was won by Pay Tribute who was trained by the

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 ...

trainer Ron McAnally and ridden by

jockey

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 ...

by lengths in a time of 2:02 over the miles distance. The event was the signature event at the Meadowlands track with its high stakes attracting class horses. Within two years when champion three-year-old Spectacular Bid won the event in stakes record time it was classed as

Grade II 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 ...

. The event was upgraded to Grade I in 1983. The event was decreased to its present miles distance in 1990. That year's running posed one of the largest upsets in North American racing history when Great Normand won at 181-1 odds. There was no race held in 1997 or 2011. The race was downgraded from a Grade II to a Grade III in 2017, and the purse was reduced to $100,000 from the previous $200,000. The event was moved to Monmouth Park in 2010 and was renamed to the Monmouth Cup Stakes. Sharp Azteca's win in 2017 set a track record at Monmouth for the distance of miles, beating Formal Gold's 1:40.20 that was set in August 1997.

Records

Speed record: * miles: 1:45.93 – Etched (2009) * miles: 1:40.19 – Sharp Azteca (2017) * miles: 1:58.80 – Alysheba (1988) ;Margins * 8 lengths – Marquetry (1993) * lengths – Sharp Azteca (2017) Most wins: * 2 – Etched (2009, 2010) * 2 – Bradester (2015, 2016) 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 ...

: * 4 –

(1977, 1978, 1983, 1986) * 4 –

John R. Velazquez John R. Velazquez (born November 24, 1971) is a Puerto Rican jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. He began his career in Puerto Rico and moved to New York in 1990. In 2004 and 2005 he was the United States Champion Jockey by earnings and both y ...

(1998, 2001, 2004, 2006) Most wins by a trainer: * 4 –

Todd A. Pletcher Todd Pletcher (born June 26, 1967 in Dallas, Texas) is an American thoroughbred horse trainer. He won the Eclipse Award seven times as Trainer of the Year, four of these in consecutive years. His horses Super Saver (2010) and Always Dreaming (20 ...

(2004, 2006, 2012, 2021) Most wins by an owner: * 2 –

Darley Stable Darley Racing is a thoroughbred horse racing operations controlled by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai and Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates. It was launched in 1981. Horses owned include Singspiel ...

(2009, 2010) * 2 – Joseph W. Sutton (2015, 2016)

Winners

''Notes:''
§ Ran as an entry

References

{{reflist, 2 Graded stakes races in the United States Open mile category horse races Horse races in New Jersey Recurring sporting events established in 1977 1977 establishments in New Jersey Grade 3 stakes races in the United States Monmouth Park Racetrack Meadowlands Racetrack

History

Records

Winners

See also

References