The Stymie Stakes is an American race for

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

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 ...

. Usually raced in late February or early March, it is open to horses age four and older. It is run on dirt over a distance of one mile and offers a purse of $150,000. The race was named in honor of

Stymie A stymie is an obsolete rule in the sport of golf. It legislated for the situation where a player's ball lay behind or blocked by another player's ball; the blocked player was not afforded relief. In the modern game, the blocking ball is temporar ...

, the handicap champion of 1945. A $1,500 claimer, he was inducted into the United States Racing Hall of Fame in 1975. Making 131 career starts, Stymie won 35, placed in 33, and came in third 28 times. At the time, his earnings of $918,485 set a record. In the

Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 Racehorses of the 20th Century ''BloodHorse'' is a multimedia news organization covering Thoroughbred racing and breeding that started with a newsletter first published in 1916 as a monthly bulletin put out by the Thoroughbred Horse Association.

Stymie is listed as #41. Originally a handicap race for horses age three and older, the Stymie was a Grade 3 event from 1973 through 2002 after which it became a

Listed race Group races, also known as Pattern races, or Graded races in some jurisdictions, are the highest level of races in Thoroughbred horse racing. They include most of the world's iconic races, such as, in Europe, the Derby, Irish Derby and Prix de l'A ...

. It was hosted by

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 ...

from inception in 1956 to 1961, and again between 1968 and 1975.

Historic notes

The great Kelso won the Stymie Handicap in 1962 then in 1965 won it again in what would be the final win of his brilliant career, capped off with his fifth

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Hor ...

title. The 1972 edition of the Stymie Handicap was won by the

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n longshot

Canonero II Cañonero II (April 24, 1968 – November 11, 1981) was a Venezuelan champion Thoroughbred race horse that may be best remembered for winning the first two legs of the 1971 U.S. Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. After t ...

who had won the 1971 Kentucky Derby and

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 () on ...

. In capturing the Stymie, Canonero II won by five lengths while equaling the

North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...

record for a mile and an eighth.

Records

Speed record: * 1:46.20 @ 1/1/8 miles :

(1972) & Key To The Kingdom (1974) * 2:00.40 @ 1/14 miles : Grace Born (1968) Most wins: * 2 – Kelso (1962, 1965) * 2 – It's Academic (1989, 1990) * 2 – More to Tell (1995, 1996) * 2 – Ground Storm (2002, 2004) * 2 – Turco Bravo (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 –

Jorge Velásquez Jorge Velásquez (born December 28, 1946 in Chepo, Panama) is a thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey. Jorge Velasquez's career in thoroughbred racing began in his native Panama but as a teenager moved to the United States. In 1967 he won ...

(1971, 1975, 1985, 1990) Most wins by a trainer: * 3 – Bruce Levine (1994, 2000, 2005) * 3 – Gasper S. Moschera (1995, 1996, 1997) * 3 – Gary Contessa (2008, 2015, 2016) * 3 –

Todd 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 ...

(2006, 2010, 2019) Most wins by an owner: * 3 – Winning Move Stable (Sigler family) (2008, 2015, 2016)

Winners

* Ŧ – Turco Bravo, Southern Hemisphere foal of October 13, 2009.

References

{{reflist Open mile category horse races Horse races in New York City Ungraded stakes races in the United States Aqueduct Racetrack Recurring sporting events established in 1956 1956 establishments in New York City