The Metropolitan Handicap, frequently called the "Met Mile", is an American

Grade I 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 ...

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 at Belmont Park in

Elmont, New York Elmont is an unincorporated hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in northwestern Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, United States, along its border with the borough of Queens in New York City. The population was 35,265 at the 2 ...

. Open to horses age three and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of one mile (8

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). Starting in 2014, it is now run on the same day as the Belmont Stakes in early June. The Met Mile is one of the most prestigious American races outside of the

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

and

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, ...

. It is known as a "stallion-making race" as the distance of a mile often displays the winner's "brilliance", referring to an exceptional turn of foot. Winners of the race who went on to become notable stallions include

Tom Fool Tom Fool (March 31, 1949 – August 20, 1976) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 1953 American Horse of the Year and was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame. He sired the champion racehorses Buckpasser and Tim Tam. B ...

(1953), Native Dancer (1954), Buckpasser (1967),

Fappiano Fappiano (May 19, 1977 – September 3, 1990) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse whose most important win was the 1981 Metropolitan Handicap. When retired to stud, he became a major sire whose offspring included Kentucky Derby winner Unbridle ...

(1981),

Gulch In xeric lands, a gulch is a deep V-shaped valley formed by erosion. It may contain a small stream or dry creek bed and is usually larger in size than a gully. Sudden intense rainfall upstream may produce flash floods in the bed of the gulch. ...

(1987–88), and

Ghostzapper Ghostzapper (foaled April 6, 2000) is a Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2004, outdistancing Roses in May by three lengths in a track record time of 1:59.02. His gate-to-wire Classic victory completed a 4-for-4 season, ...

(2005).

History

The Met Mile was first run in 1891 at

Morris Park Racetrack Morris Park Racecourse was an American 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 neighborhood of Morris Park. T ...

. Prior to 1897, it was run at a distance of miles. In 1904, its location was moved to Belmont Park. There it remained except for nine years; 1960 to 1967, 1969, and 1975 when it was hosted by Aqueduct Racetrack. It was not run in 1895, 1911, and 1912. The Met Mile was the first of three races in the

New York Handicap Triple The Handicap Triple Crown or New York Handicap Triple are the names used to refer to three American handicap races for older Thoroughbred racehorses run by the New York Racing Association at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The three races are ...

series, followed by the Suburban Handicap and Brooklyn Handicap. Four horses have won the Handicap Triple: *

Whisk Broom II Whisk Broom II (1907–1928) was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who raced in the United Kingdom (under the name Whisk Broom) and in the United States. Whisk Broom showed high class form during four seasons of racing in Europe, but ...

(1913) *

(1953) * Kelso (1961) *

Fit to Fight Fit to Fight (April 5, 1979 in Kentucky – May 30, 2008) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Handicap Triple Crown (also called the New York Handicap Triple) in 1984. Background Sired by Chieftain, a son of Bold Ruler, in t ...

(1984) The Met Mile and the Brooklyn are now run on the same day as part of the Belmont Stakes undercard, so it is no longer possible to complete the Handicap Triple. There was a

Dead Heat A dead heat is a rare situation in various racing sports in which the performances of competitors are judged to be so close that no difference between them can be resolved. The result is declared a tie and the competitors are awarded a joint ra ...

for first in 1905.

Records

Time record: * 1:32.73 –

Frosted Frosted (stylised as FroSTed) was an American pop punk band, founded by ex-Go-Go's guitarist and singer Jane Wiedlin in 1995. The band was so-named because ''"it sounds sweet"''.''The Daily Aztec''link) The letters S and T were capitalised in tr ...

(2016) Largest Margin * 14 1/4 –

(2016) Most wins by an owner * 6 – Greentree Stable (1940, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1953, 1963) Most wins by a jockey * 5 –

John 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 ye ...

(1996, 1999, 2010, 2012, 2014) Most wins by a trainer * 6 – John M. Gaver Sr. (1940, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1953, 1963)

Winners

References

{{reflist
The 2008 Metropolitan Handicap at the NTRA

External links

Ten Things You Should Know About the Met Mile at Hello Race Fans!
Grade 1 stakes races in the United States Horse races in New York (state) Open mile category horse races Belmont Park Morris Park Racecourse Recurring sporting events established in 1891 1891 establishments in New York (state)

History

Records

Winners

See also

References

External links