Bay Ridge Handicap

{{Infobox horseraces | class = Discontinued stakes | horse race = Bay Ridge Handicap | website = | image = | caption = | location = [[Sheepshead Bay Race Track]] [[Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn]], [[New York (state)|New York]], United States | inaugurated = 1887–1910 | race type = [[Thoroughbred]] – [[Flat racing]] | distance = 1 1/16 miles: 1910 1 1/4 miles: 1901–1909

| surface = Dirt | track = left-handed | qualification = Three years old & up | weight = | purse = }}

The '''Bay Ridge Handicap''' was an American [[Thoroughbred racing|Thoroughbred horse race]] run from 1901 through 1910 at [[Sheepshead Bay Race Track]] in [[Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn]], [[New York (state)|New York]]. A race for horses age three and older of either sex, it was run on dirt over a distance of a mile and a quarter until 1910 when it was reduced to a mile and a sixteenth.

==The end of a race and of a racetrack== The Bay Ridge Handicap was last run on June 18, 1910 after the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]-controlled [[New York Legislature]] under [[Governor of New York|Governor]] [[Charles Evans Hughes]] passed the [[Hart–Agnew Law|Hart–Agnew anti-betting legislation]] on June 11, 1908. The owners of Sheepshead Bay Race Track, and other racing facilities in New York State, struggled to stay in business without betting.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1908/09/01/archives/keep-up-betting-ban-strict-enforcement-of-the-law-at-sheepshead-bay.html |title=Keep Up Betting Ban |work=New York Times |date=1908-09-01 |accessdate=2018-11-06}}</ref> Racetrack operators had no choice but to drastically reduce the [[Purse distribution|purse money]] being paid out which resulted in the Bay Ridge Handicap offering a purse in 1910 that was one-fifth of what it had been in earlier years. These small purses made horse racing unprofitable and impossible for even the most successful horse owners to continue in business.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1900s/drf1908081101/drf1908081101_1_6 |title=Coney Island Clubs Sturdy Stand |work=Daily Racing Form|via=University of Kentucky Archives|date=1908-08-11 |accessdate=2019-02-03}}</ref> Further restrictive legislation was passed by the New York Legislature in 1910 which resulted in the deepening of the financial crisis for track operators and led to a complete shut down of racing across the state during 1911 and 1912. When a Court ruling saw racing return in 1913 it was too late for the Sheepshead Bay facility and it never reopened.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1900s/drf1908121501/drf1908121501_1_7|title=Destruction Wrought by Hughes |work=Daily Racing Form|via=University of Kentucky Archives|date=1908-12-15|accessdate=2018-11-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1910s/drf1914111701/drf1914111701_1_2 |title=Famous Old Track is Sold |work=Daily Racing Form|via=University of Kentucky Archives|date=1914-11-17|accessdate=2018-11-30}}</ref>

==Records== '''Speed record:''' * 1 ¼ miles: 2:04.40 – [[Effendi (horse)|Effendi]] (1909)

'''Most wins by a [[jockey]]:''' * 2 – [[Willie Shaw (jockey)|Willie Shaw]] (1901, 1906)

'''Most wins by a [[Horse trainer|trainer]]:''' * no trainer won this race more than once

'''Most wins by an owner:''' * 2 – no owner won this race more than once

==Winners== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:90%" |- ! style="width:30px" | Year ! style="width:110px" | Winner ! style="width:20px" | Age ! style="width:110px" | Jockey ! style="width:120px" | Trainer ! Owner ! style="width:25px" | Dist. ([[Mile]]s) ! style="width:25px" | Time ! style="width:25px" | Win$ |- |align=center|1910 |Hampton Court |align=center|3 |[[Carroll H. Shilling]] |[[Sam Hildreth]] |Sam Hildreth |align=center|1{{Frac|1|16}} M |align=center|1:54.40 |align=center|$580 |- |align=center|1909 |[[Effendi (horse)|Effendi]] |align=center|3 |William F. Doyle |Frank C. Frisbie |W. T. Ryan |align=center|1{{Frac|1|4}} M |align=center|2:04.40 |align=center|$485 |- |align=center|1908 |Old Honesty |align=center|4 |[[Joe Notter]] |Andrew J. Gorey |Andrew J. Gorey |align=center|1{{Frac|1|4}} M |align=center|2:06.20 |align=center|$510 |- |align=center|1907 |Gallavant |align=center|4 |[[Guy Garner]] |[[T. J. Healey]] |[[Richard Thornton Wilson Jr.|Richard T. Wilson Jr.]] |align=center|1{{Frac|1|4}} M |align=center|2:07.00 |align=center|$3,025 |- |align=center|1906 |Ram's Horn |align=center|4 |[[Willie Shaw (jockey)|Willie Shaw]] |W. S. (Wink) Williams |W. S. (Wink) Williams |align=center|1{{Frac|1|4}} M |align=center|2:05.60 |align=center|$3,225 |- |align=center|1905 |[[Cairngorm (horse)|Cairngorm]] |align=center|3 |[[Willie Davis (jockey)|Willie Davis]] |[[A. Jack Joyner]] |[[Sydney Paget]] |align=center|1{{Frac|1|4}} M |align=center|2:08.20 |align=center|$3,150 |- |align=center|1904 |Proper |align=center|4 |[[Gene Hildebrand]] |[[Walter B. Jennings]] |[[Walter B. Jennings]] |align=center|1{{Frac|1|4}} M |align=center|2:06.20 |align=center|$3,250 |- |align=center|1903 |Blues |align=center|5 |John J. Hoar |[[Frank D. Weir]] |Frank J. Farrell |align=center|1{{Frac|1|4}} M |align=center|2:10.20 |align=center|$1,630 |- |align=center|1902 |Advance Guard |align=center|5 |[[Otto Wonderly]] |Alexander Shields |James Carruthers & Alexander Shields |align=center|1{{Frac|1|4}} M |align=center|2:07.20 |align=center|$1,080 |- |align=center|1901 |Kamara |align=center|4 |Willie Shaw |Charles F. Hill |[[Clarence Mackay|Clarence H. Mackay]] |align=center|1{{Frac|1|4}} M |align=center|2:06.40 |align=center|$1,085 |- |}

==References== {{reflist}}

[[Category:Open middle distance horse races]] [[Category:Discontinued horse races in New York City]] [[Category:Sheepshead Bay Race Track]] [[Category:Horse races established in 1901]] [[Category:Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1910]] [[Category:1901 establishments in New York City]] [[Category:1910 disestablishments in New York (state)]]