The Bahamas 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 January at

Hialeah Park Race Track The Hialeah Park Race Track (also known as the Hialeah Race Track or Hialeah Park) is a historic racetrack in Hialeah, Florida. Its site covers 40 square blocks of central-east side Hialeah from Palm Avenue east to East 4th Avenue, and from East ...

Hialeah, Florida Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 census, Hialeah is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in the Miami metropolitan area ...

. A seven

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 ...

race on dirt, it was the first important test of the calendar year for newly turned three-year-olds. The race was used by prospective U.S. Triple Crown contenders as a stepping stone to the

Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissim ...

and

Flamingo Stakes The Flamingo Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses run over a distance of a mile and one-eighth. Run as the Florida Derby until 1937, the inaugural event took place at Tampa Downs on February 27, 1926. There was ...

at the Hialeah track. Reflected Glory (1967) and Pistols and Roses (1992), swept all three events. Inaugurated in 1934 as the Bahamas Handicap, it was run in two divisions in 1952, 1953, and 1969. By the mid-1980s, the racing dates available to Hialeah Park track forced a rescheduling of the race and as such it would rarely be contested by Triple Crown hopefuls. Hialeah Park closed permanently after the 2001 racing season.

Racenotes

The 1937 winner, No Sir, was owned and trained by twenty-three-year-old Mary Hirsch who on April 2, 1935 became the first female to receive a trainers license. The great Bold Ruler equalled the track record in his 1957 win. His mark was matched by

Sir Gaylord Sir Gaylord (February 12, 1959 – 1981) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who later became a successful sire. Background He was bred and raced by Christopher Chenery. Sir Gaylord was sired by the British-bred, American-raced Turn-To out ...

in 1962 and then broken by New Prospect in 1972. Four horses who were beaten in the Bahamas Stakes went on to win the Kentucky Derby:Churchill Downs Incorporated list of Kentucky Derby winners 1875–2018
Retrieved Jul 27, 2018 *

Tim Tam Tim Tam is a brand of chocolate biscuit introduced by the Australian biscuit company Arnott's in 1964. It consists of two malted biscuits separated by a light hard chocolate cream filling and coated in a thin layer of textured chocolate. H ...

(1958) * Venetian Way (1960) *

Carry Back Carry Back (April 16, 1958 – March 24, 1983) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1961 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and was named the 1961 Champion Three-Year-Old. He won 21 of his 61 races, including the Metro ...

(1961) *

Forward Pass In several forms of football, a forward pass is the throwing of the ball in the direction in which the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line. The forward pass is one of the main distinguishers between gridir ...

(1968)

Winners

* † Run November 28, 1987.

References

{{Hialeah Horse races in Florida Graded stakes races in the United States Discontinued horse races Recurring sporting events established in 1934 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2001 1934 establishments in Florida 2001 disestablishments in Florida