The Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes is 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 ...

held annually in early July at Belmont Park in

Elmont, New York Elmont is an unincorporated hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in northwestern Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, United States, along its border with the borough of Queens in New York City. The population was 35,265 at the 2 ...

. A

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

event open to three-year-old fillies, it is raced on

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricult ...

over a distance of a mile and a quarter (10

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 ...

s). The purse was increased to $1,000,000 in 2014. The race is a

Breeders' Cup Challenge The Breeders' Cup Challenge is a series of Thoroughbred horse races in which the winner earns an automatic spot in a specified Breeders' Cup race. The challenge races change somewhat each year. The Challenge series began in 2007 with 24 "Win and Y ...

"Win and You're In" event for the Filly and Mare Turf. The Belmont Oaks became a Grade I race in 1999. It was previously known as the Garden City Stakes from 2007 to 2013 when it was run in September at miles. From 1996–2006, it was called the Garden City Breeders' Cup, and the Rare Perfume before that. The latter name was in honor of George Widener's racing mare, Rare Perfume. The Garden City name referred to Garden City, New York, a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

in the

Town of Hempstead The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) in the U.S. state of New York. It occupies the southwestern part of the county, on t ...

in central Nassau County located near the racetrack.The Garden City Stakes history at the NYRA

Records

Speed record: (at current distance of miles) * 1:58.71 – Athena (2018) Most wins by an owner: * 3 – Tabor, Magnier & Derrick Smith (2014, 2018, 2021) * 2 –

Ogden Phipps Ogden Phipps (November 26, 1908 – April 21, 2002) was an American stockbroker, court tennis champion and Hall of Fame member, thoroughbred horse racing executive and owner/breeder, and an art collector and philanthropist. In 2001, he was induc ...

(1981, 1987) * 2 – John W. Phillips (2002, 2011) Most wins by a jockey: * 4 – José A. Santos (1989, 1990, 1991, 2004) Most wins by a trainer: * 5 – Chad C. Brown (2012–2015, 2017) * 3 – H. Allen Jerkens (1988, 1992, 1993)

Winners

References

{{reflist Graded stakes races in the United States Flat horse races for three-year-old fillies Grade 1 stakes races in the United States Horse races in New York (state) Turf races in the United States Belmont Park Recurring sporting events established in 1978 1978 establishments in New York (state) Breeders' Cup Challenge series