{{short description|Defunct thoroughbred horse race}} {{Infobox horseraces | class = Discontinued | horse race = Great Filly Stakes | website = | image = | caption = | location = [[Sheepshead Bay Race Track]]<br>[[Brooklyn]], [[New York (state)|New York]],<br>United States | inaugurated = 1901–1909 | race type = [[Thoroughbred]] – [[Flat racing]] | distance = 6 [[furlong]]s | surface = Dirt | track = left-handed | qualification = Two-year-old fillies | weight = | purse = $10,000 | bonuses = }}
The '''Great Filly Stakes''' is a discontinued [[Thoroughbred racing|Thoroughbred horse race]] run from 1901 through 1909 that began as one of the richest events for two-year-old [[Filly|fillies]] in the United States with $23,975 going to the winner. It was run on dirt over a distance of six [[furlong]]s at the [[Sheepshead Bay Race Track]] in [[Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn]], [[New York (state)|New York]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1900s/drf1909090801/drf1909090801_1_10 |title=Winners of the Great Filly Stakes |work=Daily Racing Form|via=University of Kentucky Archives|date=1909-09-08 |accessdate=2018-11-28}}</ref>
==Top class runners== Although prize money declined from its inaugural high, the Great Filly Stakes still offered a significant purse throughout its tenure. Run in September, the race helped establish the year's Champion two-year-old filly and those expected to be top-level performers in their upcoming three-year-old campaigns. As such, in the nine years the race was run it produced three future [[National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]] fillies, [[Maskette]], [[Artful]] and [[Beldame]], all of which were [[Eclipse Award|Champions]] including an [[American Horse of the Year]] honoree. In addition, [[Blue Girl]] would be named a Champion at both age two and three, and although not a Champion, [[Running Water (horse)|Running Water]] had a redoubtable career in which she won top races against the best competition including beating male opponents on a regular basis.
==Hart–Agnew Law== During the first decade of the 1900s, horse racing in New York state had been under increasing attack by politicians and activists who opposed [[gambling|wagering]] on races.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1900s/drf1909090901/drf1909090901_1_2 |title=Schoolmarm's Great Filly: J. A. Bennet's Candidate Wins Rich Juvenile Special at |work=Daily Racing Form|via=University of Kentucky Archives|date=1909-09-09 |accessdate=2018-11-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B07E2D71631E233A25752C0A96F9C946997D6CF |title=Keep Up Betting Ban; Strict Enforcement of the Law at Sheepshead Bay Races |work=Daily Racing Form|via=University of Kentucky Archives|date=1908-09-01 |accessdate=2018-11-06}}</ref> The [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] controlled [[New York Legislature]] under [[Governor of New York|Governor]] [[Charles Evans Hughes]] had already passed the [[Hart–Agnew Law|Hart–Agnew anti-betting legislation]] on June 11 of that year. As a result, owners of Sheepshead Bay Race Track, and other racing facilities in New York State, struggled to stay in business without income from wagering.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1900s/drf1908011801/drf1908011801_1_7 |title=Penalties in the New York Bills |work=Daily Racing Form|via=University of Kentucky Archives|date=1908-01-18|accessdate=2018-10-26}}</ref> Racetrack operators had no choice but to make cuts to the [[Purse distribution|purse money]] being paid out which by 1909 saw many [[Glossary of North American horse racing#stakes race|stakes races]] offering drastically reduced purses.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1910s/drf1910071601/drf1910071601_1_7 |title=Striking Falling off in Value of Ten Greatest Stakes |work=Daily Racing Form|via=University of Kentucky Archives|date= 1910-07-16 |accessdate=2018-10-15}}</ref>
==The end of a race and a racetrack== After 1908, the financial situation had deteriorated to the point where it left the future of the Sheepshead Bay track in doubt and its owners attempted to make a deal with the [[Saratoga Race Course|Saratoga Association]] to host its Great Filly Stakes for 1910. Unsuccessful in their effort, the final Great Filly Stakes took place on September 8, 1909 and was won by Schoolmarm.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1910s/drf1910080601/drf1910080601_1_9 |title=Great Filly Will Not be Run |work=Daily Racing Form|via=University of Kentucky Archives|date=1910-08-06|accessdate=2018-11-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1900s/drf1909090901/drf1909090901_1_2 |title=Schoolmarm's Great Filly: J. A. Bennet's Candidate Wins Rich Juvenile Special at |work=Daily Racing Form|via=University of Kentucky Archives|date=1909-09-09 |accessdate=2018-11-29}}</ref>
Further restrictive legislation was passed by the [[New York State Legislature]] in 1910 which deepened the financial crisis for track operators and led to a complete shutdown of racing across the state during 1911 and 1912.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1910s/drf1910052701/drf1910052701_1_3 |title=Anti-Racing Bills Pass at Albany |work=Daily Racing Form|via=University of Kentucky Archives|date=1910-05-27 |accessdate=2018-11-30}}</ref> When a February 1913 Court ruling saw racing return that year it was too late for any revival of the Great Filly Stakes as the Sheepshead Bay horse racing facility never reopened for horse racing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1910s/drf1913022201/drf1913022201_1_9 |title=Oral Betting Held Legal: Appellate Division of New York Supreme Court Renders Important Decision |work=Daily Racing Form|via=University of Kentucky Archives|date=1913-02-22 |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:''' *1:11 3/5 – [[Artful]] (1904)
'''Most wins by a [[jockey]]:''' * 2 – [[Thomas H. Burns|Tommy Burns]] (1902, 1905)
'''Most wins by a [[Horse trainer|trainer]]:''' * 3 – [[John W. Rogers (horse trainer)|John W. Rogers]] (1901, 1904, 1906)
'''Most wins by an owner:''' * 2 – [[William Collins Whitney|William C. Whitney]] (1901, 1902) * 2 – [[Harry Payne Whitney|Harry P. Whitney]] (1904, 1906)
==Winners== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:90%" |- ! style="width:30px" | Year<br> ! style="width:100px" | Winner<br> ! style="width:30px" | Age<br> ! style="width:110px" | Jockey<br> ! style="width:125px" | Trainer<br> ! Owner<br> ! style="width:25px" | Dist.<br> <span style="font-size:70%">([[Furlong]]s)</span> ! style="width:25px" | Time<br> ! style="width:25px" | Win$ |- |align=center|1909 |Schoolmarm |align=center|2 |[[James H. Butwell|James Butwell]] |[[Andrew Jackson Goldsborough|A. J. Goldsborough]] |Jack A. Bennett |align=center|6 F |align=center|1:14.00 |align=center|$7,175 |- |align=center|1908 |[[Maskette]] |align=center|2 |[[Joe Notter]] |[[James G. Rowe Sr.]] |[[James R. Keene]] |align=center|6 F |align=center|1:12.60 |align=center|$10,515 |- |align=center|1907 |Keep Moving |align=center|2 |[[Eddie Dugan]] |[[John E. Madden]] |[[Francis R. Hitchcock]] |align=center|6 F |align=center|1:15.00 |align=center|$11,655 |- |align=center|1906 |Killaloe |align=center|2 |Charles Koerner |[[John W. Rogers (horse trainer)|John W. Rogers]] |[[Harry P. Whitney]] |align=center|6 F |align=center|1:13.40 |align=center|$9,365 |- |align=center|1905 |[[Running Water (horse)|Running Water]] |align=center|2 |[[Thomas H. Burns|Tommy Burns]] |[[Woodford Clay]] |Woodford Clay |align=center|6 F |align=center|1:15.40 |align=center|$9,055 |- |align=center|1904 |[[Artful]] |align=center|2 |[[Gene Hildebrand]] |John W. Rogers |Harry P. Whitney |align=center|6 F |align=center|1:11.60 |align=center|$10,245 |- |align=center|1903 |[[Beldame]] |align=center|2 |[[John Bullman]] |[[Fred Burlew]] |Newton Bennington |align=center|6 F |align=center|1:12.80 |align=center|$15,300 |- |align=center|1902 |Girdle |align=center|2 |Tommy Burns |John E. Madden |[[William Collins Whitney|William C. Whitney]] |align=center|6 F |align=center|1:12.60 |align=center|$12,740 |- |align=center|1901 |[[Blue Girl]] |align=center|2 |[[Willie Shaw (jockey)|Willie Shaw]] |John W. Rogers |William C. Whitney |align=center|6 F |align=center|1:14.80 |align=center|$23,975 |- |}
==References== {{reflist}}
[[Category:Flat horse races for two-year-old fillies]] [[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 1909]] [[Category:1901 establishments in New York City]] [[Category:1909 disestablishments in New York (state)]]