The Nashua Stakes is a Grade III 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 ...

for two-year-olds over a distance of one mile on the main dirt track scheduled annually in late October or early November usually at Aqueduct Racetrack in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, New York. The event currently offers a purse of $150,000.

History

The event is named in honor of

Nashua Nashua may refer to: * Nashaway people, Native American tribe living in 17th-century New England Places In Australia: * Nashua, New South Wales In the United States: * Nashua, California * Nashua, Iowa * Nashua, Minnesota * Nashua, Kansas City ...

, the 1955 United States Horse of the Year. Nashua won the Dwyer Handicap at Aqueduct after he had just won the last two Classic events, 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 () o ...

and Belmont Stakes. The event was inaugurated on December 22, 1975, and was won by Lord Henribee, who was ridden by US Hall of Fame jockey

Eddie Maple Edward Retz "Eddie" Maple (born November 8, 1948, in Carrollton, Ohio) is a retired American thoroughbred horse racing jockey. One of eight siblings, he is an older brother to jockey Sam Maple, who won more than 2,500 races. Maple began riding h ...

for his fourth straight win as the 2/5 odds-on favorite on a cold snowy day in a time of 1:35. In 1982 the event was classified as Grade III and was upgraded to Grade II in 1986 for three runnings. The race returned to Grade II by the

American Graded Stakes Committee {{short description, Organization for Thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeders The American Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) based in Lexington, Kentucky is a trade organization for Thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeder ...

in 2009 but was downgraded once more in 2018 back to Grade III. The event was scheduled for the turf for three runnings between 1991 and 1993. The event has had several distance changes. The distance was set at a mile and 70 yards for 1985, at a mile and a sixteenth from 1987 to 1993 and six furlongs in 2011. The event was not held in 1995 and has been held at Belmont Park four times, the last of which was in 2021. The event is late in the season and it is usually a good race for late-developing two-year-olds. There have been several notable participants who have made an impact later in their racing careers. The 1991 winner Pine Bluff went on to win the

1992 Preakness Stakes The 1992 Preakness Stakes was the 117th running of the Preakness Stakes thoroughbred horse race. The race took place on May 16, 1992, and was televised in the United States on the ABC television network. Pine Bluff, who was jockeyed by Chris McC ...

while the 1997 winner Coronado's Quest the following year won the Grade I

Haskell Invitational The Haskell Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run over a distance of miles on the dirt held annually in July at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. The event is a signature event at Monmouth ...

and Grade I

Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Mid-Summer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds acco ...

. In 2010 To Honor and Serve led all the way to record an easy 4-length victory over

Mucho Macho Man Mucho Macho Man ( foaled June 15, 2008) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2013 Breeders' Cup Classic. He was foaled in Florida and named after the Village People song " Macho Man". His breeders were Carole and John Rio of Flori ...

. To Honor and Serve also won two Grade Is later in his career, the

Cigar Mile Handicap The Cigar Mile Handicap is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three-years-old and older held in late November or early December at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. Typically New York's final Grade I thoroughbred st ...

and

Woodward Stakes The Woodward Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race and is one of the premier races for older thoroughbred horses in the United States. It is named for prominent racehorse owner William Woodward. The race was first run in 1954 at Aqueduct Rac ...

while

won the

Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October ...

in 2013 as a five-year-old.

Records

Time record: *1 mile: 1:34:66 – Independence Hall (2019) * miles: 1:44.60 – Dalhart (1992) Margins: * lengths - Quadratic (1977) * lengths - Independence Hall (2019) Most wins by an owner * 3 –

Loblolly Stable Loblolly Stable was a Thoroughbred horse breeding and racing stable in Lake Hamilton, Arkansas owned by businessman John Ed Anthony and his former wife Mary Lynn. The stable's first top runner was Cox's Ridge who won important races in 1977 an ...

(1988, 1991, 1992) Most wins by a jockey * 4 – Jerry D. Bailey (1990, 1998, 2001, 2003) Most wins by a trainer * 5 –

Kiaran McLaughlin Kiaran P. McLaughlin (born November 15, 1960, in Lexington, Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer best known for training 2006 Horse of the Year Invasor. Background McLaughlin was born in an area of the country where horse r ...

(2006, 2007, 2013, 2015, 2017)

Winners

''Legend:''

''Notes:''
§ Ran as an entry
† In the 1980 running, Willow Hour was first past the post, but was disqualified and placed last for interference in the running of the race.

References

{{reflist, 2 1975 establishments in New York City Horse races in New York City Aqueduct Racetrack Flat horse races for two-year-olds Graded stakes races in the United States Grade 3 stakes races in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1975

History

Records

Winners

See also

References