The Russet Stakes was an 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 ...

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held annually from 1895 through 1909 at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in

Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn Sheepshead Bay is a neighborhood in southern Brooklyn, New York City. It is bounded by Ocean Parkway to the west; Avenue T and Kings Highway to the north; Nostrand Avenue and Gerritsen Avenue to the east; and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. ...

, New York. Open to horses age three and older and run at a distance of 1½ miles, it was an event that attracted mainly stayers who were best at longer distances.

Historical notes

On June 10, 1886, the Coney Island Jockey Club opened the first turf racecourse in the United States. In 1895, the inaugural running of the Russet Stakes was won by

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Copper King

Marcus Daly Marcus Daly (December 5, 1841 – November 12, 1900) was an Irish-born American businessman known as one of the three " Copper Kings" of Butte, Montana, United States. Early life Daly emigrated from County Cavan, Ireland, to the United States ...

's British-born import Bathampton. The four-year-old horse was ridden by future U. S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Fred Taral and trained by another future U. S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee,

Matthew Byrnes Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Chi ...

. The final running on September 9, 1909, was won by Bonnie Kelso, a $140

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purchase who set a new course record. Bonnie Kelso's owner/trainer and future Hall of Fame inductee George Odom had won the 1904 Russet as a jockey aboard Goughacre Stable's Shorthose.

The end of a race and of a racetrack

On June 11, 1908, the

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controlled

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under

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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 ...

passed the Hart–Agnew anti-betting legislation. The owners of Sheepshead Bay Race Track, and other racing facilities in New York State, struggled to stay in business without income from betting. Racetrack operators had no choice but to drastically reduce the

purse money A purse is a small bag that may refer to: * Coin purse, small pouch made for carrying coins * Handbag, in American English * Money bag * Wallet Purse may also refer to: * Purse (horse racing), the total amount of money paid out to the owners o ...

being paid out which resulted in the Russet Stakes offering a purse in 1909 that was less than one-third of what it had been in earlier years. These small purses made horse racing unprofitable and impossible for even the most successful horse owners to continue in business. As such, for the 1910 racing season management of the Sheepshead Bay facility dropped some of its minor stakes races and used the purse money to bolster its most important events. Further restrictive legislation was passed by the New York Legislature in 1910 which resulted in the deepening of the financial crisis for track operators and led to a complete shut down of racing across the state during 1911 and 1912. When a Court ruling saw racing return in 1913 it was too late for the Sheepshead Bay facility and it never reopened.

Records

Speed record: * 2:32.40 – Bonnie Kelso (1909) Most wins: * no horse won this race more than once Most wins by a jockey: * 2 – Tod Sloan (1897, 1898) * 2 – Winfield O'Connor (1899, 1901) Most wins by a trainer: * no trainer won this race more than once Most wins by an owner: * no owner won this race more than once

Winners

References

{{Reflist Discontinued horse races in New York City Turf races in the United States Open middle distance horse races Sheepshead Bay Race Track Recurring sporting events established in 1895 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1909 1895 establishments in New York City 1909 disestablishments in New York (state) Sports in Brooklyn