The Vagrancy Handicap is a
Grade III 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 ...
for
fillies
A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use:
*In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old.
*In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...
and
mares
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four y ...
that are three years old and older run over a distance of
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 on the dirt track held annually in late May or early June at
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 ...
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 ...
.
History
The race is named in honor of
Vagrancy
Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...
, the Champion three-year-old filly and champion handicap mare of 1942 owned by
Belair Stud
Belair Stud was an American thoroughbred horse racing stable and breeding farm founded by Provincial Governor of Maryland Samuel Ogle in 1747 in Collington, Prince George's County, Maryland, in Colonial America.
Colonial period
Queen Mab and S ...
and trained by
Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons
James Edward "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons (July 23, 1874 – March 11, 1966) was a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer.
Early life
Born in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn in 1874, Fitzsimmons began his career in 1885 working at a racetrack as a stable boy. Aft ...
.
The event was inaugurated on 10 July 1948 at
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 ...
in
Queens, New York
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...
when
Conniver easily won by five lengths over Harmonica in a time of 1:43 over a distance of miles.
[ Later that year Conniver was voted the 1948 ]American Champion Older Female Horse The Eclipse Award for Champion Older Dirt Female Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a filly or mare, four years old and up, for performances on dirt and main track racing surfaces. In 1971, it became part of the ...
.
The event was idle from 1949 through 1951.[
In 1955, the Vagrancy Handicap was run in two divisions.]
Records
Speed record:
* furlongs: 1:14.46 – Bear Fan (2004)
* 7 furlongs: 1:20.80 – Grecian Flight (1988)
Margins:
* 9 lengths – Bear Fan (2004)
Most wins:
* 2 – Sky Beauty
Sky Beauty ( February 9, 1990–July 2, 2004) was a thoroughbred horse who won the 1993 Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing. As of 2018, she was the last filly to win this title.
Background
Georgia E. Hofmann, who owned Wycombe House Stud ...
(1994, 1995)
* 2 – Victim of Love (2020, 2021)
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 – Ángel Cordero Jr.
Ángel Tomás Cordero Jr. (born: November 8, 1942) is one of the leading Thoroughbred horse racing jockeys of the late 20th-century and the first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the United States' Racing Hall of Fame. He led all jockeys in win ...
(1977, 1984, 1987, 1989)
* 4 – John Velazquez
John R. Velazquez (born November 24, 1971) is a Puerto Rican jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. He began his career in Puerto Rico and moved to New York in 1990. In 2004 and 2005 he was the United States Champion Jockey by earnings and both yea ...
(1999, 2001, 2004, 2005)
Most wins by a trainer:
* 5 – H. Allen Jerkens (1968, 1969, 1989, 1994, 1995)
Most wins by an owner:
* 2 – Harry La Montagne (1948, 1957)
* 2 – Ethel D. Jacobs
Ethel D. Jacobs (March 18, 1910 - November 9, 2001) was a prominent American Thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder who was a three-time leading owner in North America.
Married to U.S. Racing Hall of Fame trainer Hirsch Jacobs, Ethel Jacobs us ...
(1955, 1965)
* 2 – Calumet Farm
Calumet Farm is a Thoroughbred breeding and training farm established in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. Calumet is located in the heart of the Bluegras ...
(1956, 1961)
* 2 – Meadow Stable
Christopher Chenery (September 16, 1886 – January 3, 1973) was an American engineer, businessman, and the owner/breeder of record for Thoroughbred horse racing's U.S. Triple Crown champion Secretariat.
Early life and career
Christopher C ...
(1955, 1963)
* 2 – Wheatley Stable
Wheatley Stable was the '' nom de course '' for the thoroughbred horse racing partnership formed by Gladys Mills Phipps and her brother, Ogden Livingston Mills. The horses were raised at Claiborne Farm near Paris, Kentucky.
History
Over the ye ...
(1964, 1966)
* 2 – Hobeau Farm
John J. Dreyfus Jr. (August 28, 1913 – March 27, 2009) was an American financial expert and the founder of the Dreyfus Funds.
Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Dreyfus was a graduate of Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. He is widely publicize ...
(1968, 1969)
* 2 – Eugene V. Klein
Eugene Victor Klein (January 29, 1921March 12, 1990) was an American businessman who was chairman of the board of directors and chief stockholder of National General Corporation, an insurance and entertainment company based in Los Angeles, Ca ...
(1986, 1987)
* 2 – Georgia E. Hofmann (1994, 1995)
* 2 – Tommy Town Thoroughbred (2020, 2021)
Winners
''Notes:''
† In 1999, Hurricane Bertie finished first, but was disqualified and placed second; consequently, Gold Princess was placed first.
§ Ran as part of an entry
See also
* List of American and Canadian Graded races
The List of American and Canadian Graded races is a list of Thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada that meet the graded stakes standards maintained by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders ...
References
{{reflist, 2
Graded stakes races in the United States
Sprint category horse races for fillies and mares
Horse races in New York (state)
Recurring sporting events established in 1948
Belmont Park
1948 establishments in New York (state)
Grade 3 stakes races in the United States