Long Island Stakes
The Long Island Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in November at Aqueduct Racetrack, in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. The race is for fillies and mares, age three and up, willing to race the one and three-eighth miles on the turf.
Formerly a Grade II event, the race was downgraded to Grade III status in 2007.
Historical notes
The original Long Island Handicap was established in 1894 at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. The race was open to horses of either gender age three and older and run on dirt over a distance of one mile and one furlong. It was last run in 1910 when the racetrack closed as a result of anti-gambling legislation.A second edition of the Long Island Handicap was inaugurated in 1956 at Belmont Park. Through 1971 the race was open to horses of either gender, age three and older. It was hosted by Belmont Park in 1956–1960, 1962, 1964–1965, 1968–1969, 1972, 1975–1977, and 1989–1993.
Prior to 2017, the Long Island was run under handicap weights. Since then, the New York Racing Association has run the race under allowance weights.
Since its inception, the Long Island has been raced at various distances:
- 1 mile, 1 furlong : 1894–1910
- 1 mile : 1972
- miles : 1973–1977
- miles : 1959, 1961, 1963–1967, 1970–1971
- miles : 1960, 1962, 1968–1969, 1989, 1997, 2000, 2018–2020
- miles: 1990–1996, 1998–1999, 2001–2017, 2021–present
- miles : 1956–1958
Records
Speed record:- 2:14.22 – R Calli Kim
- 2 – Parka
- 2 – Hush Dear
- 2 – Criticism
- 2 – Mutamakina
- 5 – Cragwood Stables
- 5 – Jorge Velásquez
- 5 – MacKenzie Miller
Winners of the Long Island Stakes