The United States Hotel 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 ...

run annually in the late summer or early autumn until 1955 at

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actua ...

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...

. It was run on dirt over a distance of six

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 hors ...

s. Raced in the pre-grading era, for most of its existence the race was one of the premier shorter distance competitions for two-year-old horses in the United States. The first running of the United States Hotel Stakes took place in 1880 and was raced for three-year-olds until 1895 when it was changed to a competition for two-year-olds. The inaugural race was won by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee,

Luke Blackburn Luke Pryor Blackburn (June 16, 1816September 14, 1887) was an American physician, philanthropist, and politician from Kentucky. He was elected the List of Governors of Kentucky, 28th governor of Kentucky, serving from 1879 to 1883. Until the el ...

. It was so successful that in 1901 the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' was reporting that it was a "rich" race because it offered a purse of $10,000. While

Man o' War Man o' War (March 29, 1917 – November 1, 1947) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who is widely regarded as the greatest racehorse of all time. Several sports publications, including ''The Blood-Horse'', ''Sports Illustrated'', ESPN, and ...

, who would be ranked No.1 in the

Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. 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.

, and other great horses in the history of American Thoroughbred racing won this race, it is also notable for two notable horses who did not. In 1929, the ensuing year's U.S. Triple Crown champion and future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee

Gallant Fox Gallant Fox (March 23, 1927 – November 13, 1954) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the second winner of the American Triple Crown. In a racing career which lasted from 1929 to 1930, Gallant Fox won 11 of his 17 races includ ...

finished second.

Whirlaway Whirlaway (April 2, 1938 – April 6, 1953) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the fifth winner of the American Triple Crown. He also won the Travers Stakes after his Triple Crown sweep to become the first and only horse to ...

, another U.S. Triple Crown champion and future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, suffered the same fate in 1940. The last horse to win the United States Hotel Stakes was

Career Boy Career Boy (foaled 1953 in Kentucky) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Background He was bred and raced by Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, a member of the prominent horse-racing Whitney family. Out of the mare Swanky, whose damsire ...

, a colt owned by prominent horseman

Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Cornelius "Sonny" Vanderbilt Whitney (February 20, 1899 – December 13, 1992) was an American businessman, film producer, government official, writer and philanthropist. He was also a polo player and the owner of a significant stable of Thorough ...

who went on to be voted the

American Champion Male Turf Horse The American Champion Male Turf Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor. The award originated in 1953 when the ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) named Iceberg II their champion. The Thoroughbred Racing Association (TRA) added the cat ...

for 1956. The runner-up was

Canadian Champ {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Canadian Champ , image = , caption = , sire = Windfields , grandsire = Bunty Lawless , dam = Bolesteo , damsire = Filisteo , sex = Stallion , foaled = 1953 , country = Canada , colour = Bay , breede ...

, the 1956

Canadian Horse of the Year The Canadian Horse of the Year is a thoroughbred horse racing honour given annually since 1951 by the Jockey Club of Canada. It is the most prestigious honour in Canadian thoroughbred horse racing. Part of the Sovereign Awards program since 1975, ...

and

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to honour those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and Thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. It is located at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. The H ...

inductee.

Winners of the United States Hotel Stakes

* 1955 -

* 1954 -

Summer Tan Summer Tan (1952–1969) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse Background Summer Tan was bred and raced by Dorothy Firestone Galbreath and race conditioned by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame trainer, Sherrill Ward. Racing career 1954: two-year-o ...

* 1953 - Wise Pop * 1952 - Tahitian King * 1951 - Jet Master * 1950 - Northern Star * 1949 - More Sun * 1948 - The Admiral * 1947 - My Request * 1946 - I Will * 1945 - Air Hero * 1944 -

Pavot Pavot (January 27, 1942 - June 5, 1975) was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. In a career that lasted from 1944 to 1946 he ran thirty-two times and won fourteen races. He was the leader of his generation in 1944 when he was named Amer ...

* 1943 - Boy Knight * 1942 - Devil's Thumb * 1941 - Buster * 1940 - Attention * 1939 - Flight Command * 1938 - El Chico * 1937 - Chaps * 1936 - Reaping Reward * 1935 - Postage Due * 1934 - Balladier * 1933 - Red Wagon * 1932 -

Ladysman Ladysman (foaled 1930) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the son of Pompey who was the winner of the 1925 Hopeful Stakes as a two-year-old and the prestigious Suburban Handicap as a four-year-old. He is best remembered for his runn ...

* 1931 - Morfair * 1930 - Jamestown * 1929 - Caruso * 1928 - Comstockery * 1927 - Nassak * 1926 -

Scapa Flow Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern end in June 2009 Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and ...

* 1925 -

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

* 1924 - Sunny Man * 1923 - St. James * 1922 - Martingale * 1921 -

Morvich Morvich (April 23, 1919 – January 26, 1946) was an American Thoroughbred who was the first California-bred racehorse to win the Kentucky Derby. Bred by sugar magnate Adolph B. Spreckels at his Napa Stock Farm, Morvich was sired by James R. ...

* 1920 - Nancy Lee * 1919 -

* 1918 - Billy Kelly * 1917 - Papp * 1916 - Deer Trap * 1915 - Dominant * 1914 - Garbage * 1913 -

Old Rosebud Old Rosebud (March 13, 1911 – May 23, 1922) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse whose pedigree traced to the influential sire Eclipse, and through Eclipse to the founding stallion, the Darley Arabian. In the list of the top 100 U.S. thoro ...

* 1912 - ''No Race'' * 1911 - ''No Race'' * 1910 - Naushon * 1909 - Grasmere * 1908 - Hilarious * 1907 - Restigouche * 1906 - De Mund * 1905 -

Burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief m ...

* 1904 - Woodsaw * 1903 - Montreson * 1902 - Skilful * 1901 - Masterman * 1900 - ''No race'' * 1899 - Kinley Mack * 1898 - George Keene * 1897 - Braw Lad * 1896 - ''No Race'' * 1895 - Axiom * 1894 - Peacemaker * 1893 - ''Not found'' * 1892 - Copyright * 1891 - Bermuda * 1890 - Sinaloa * 1889 - Retrieve * 1888 - ''Not found'' * 1887 -

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

* 1886 -

Inspector B Inspector B was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1886 Belmont Stakes. Background Inspector B was bred at Belle Meade Stud in Tennessee by William Giles Harding. His sire was Enquirer, and his dam was Colossa. He ...

* 1885 - Favor * 1884 - Kosciusko * 1883 - Drake Carter * 1882 - ''Not found'' * 1881 - Hindoo * 1880 -

Notes

{{reflist

References

The United States Hotel Stakes at Pedigree Query
Discontinued horse races in New York (state) Flat horse races for two-year-olds Recurring sporting events established in 1880 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1955 1880 establishments in New York (state) 1955 disestablishments in New York (state)