Islip Handicap

{{Infobox horseraces | class = Discontinued stakes | horse race = Islip Handicap | website = | image = | caption = | location = [[Brighton Beach Race Course]], [[Brighton Beach, New York]] (1899–1909)[[Yonkers Raceway|Empire City Race Track]] in [[Yonkers, New York]] (1910) | inaugurated = 1899 | race type = [[Thoroughbred]] – [[Flat racing]] | distance = {{frac|1|1|8}} miles (9 [[Furlong|furlongs]]) | surface = Dirt | track = Left-handed | qualification = Three-years-old & up | weight = | purse = | bonuses = }}

The '''Islip Handicap''' was an American [[Thoroughbred horse race]] held annually from 1899 through 1907 at New York's [[Brighton Beach Race Course]] and then for a final time in 1910 with a drastically reduced purse at [[Yonkers Raceway|Empire City Race Track]] in [[Yonkers, New York]]. A race for horses age three and older, it was contested on dirt over a distance of one mile for the first two runnings then at a mile and one-eighth for the remainder.

==Historical notes== The filly [[Imp (horse)|Imp]] won the 1899 inaugural running of the Islip Handicap. She would go on to earn recognition as that year's [[American Horse of the Year]] and induction into the [[National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame|U. S. Racing Hall of Fame]] in 1965.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1910s/drf1910071701/drf1910071701_1_5 |title=Condensed History of the Islip Handicap |work=Daily Racing Form |via=University of Kentucky Archives |date=1910-07-17|accessdate=2020-11-02}}</ref>

In winning the 1902 edition, Bonnibert broke the Brighton Beach track record for the mile and one-eighth with a time of 1:51 flat.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/richmond-times-jul-31-1902-p-2/ |title=Bonnibert, Islip Handicap, Made a Wonderful Performance |newspaper=[[Richmond Times-Dispatch|Richmond Times]]|page=2 |date=1902-07-31|accessdate=2020-11-09}}</ref>

==End of a race and of a racetrack== The Brighton Beach Race Course prospered until 1908 when the [[New York Legislature]] passed the [[Hart–Agnew Law]] banning gambling in [[New York (state)|New York State]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Rhode |first=Paul W. |last2=Strumpf |first2=Koleman |date=October 2008 |title=Historical Political Futures Markets: An International Perspective |publisher=National Bureau of Economic Research |url=http://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/w14377.pdf |accessdate=2010-01-16 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100711101616/http://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/w14377.pdf |archivedate=2010-07-11 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Brighton to Try Turf Experiment; Purse Programmes Will Test Popularity of Racing Under New Conditions |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1908/07/06/archives/brighton-to-try-turf-experiment-purse-programmes-will-test.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 6, 1908 |page=5 |accessdate=2010-01-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Won't Sell Brighton Track; William Engeman Denies Reports that Negotiations Are Pending |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1908/08/10/archives/wont-sell-brighton-track-william-engeman-denies-reports-that.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 10, 1908 |page=1 |accessdate=2010-01-16}}</ref> [[Motor racing]] events were held at the facility in an attempt to keep the track from closing permanently but even after horse racing returned to New York it was too late to save the business.

At the time it ceased horse racing operations, the Brighton Beach Race Course was the oldest horse track in steady use in the New York City area.<ref>{{cite news |title=Crowd at Harness Races; Brighton Trotting Meeting Opened with Fine Sport |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1901/08/14/archives/crowd-at-harness-races-brighton-trotting-meeting-opened-with-fine.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 14, 1891 |page=5 |accessdate=2010-01-16}}</ref>

==Records== '''Speed record:''' * 1:51.00 @ {{frac|1|1|8}} miles: [[Bonnibert]] (1902) (track record)

'''Most wins:''' * No horse won this race more than once

'''Most wins by a [[jockey]]:''' * No jockey won this race more than once

'''Most wins by a [[Horse trainer|trainer]]:''' * 2 – [[Thomas Welsh (horse trainer)|Thomas Welsh]] (1901, 1902)

'''Most wins by an owner:''' * 2 – [[Charles Louis Fleischmann|Charles Fleischman's]] Sons

==Winners== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:90%" |- ! style="width:30px" | Year ! style="width:110px" | Winner ! style="width:30px" | Age ! style="width:110px" | Jockey ! style="width:125px" | Trainer ! Owner ! style="width:25px" | Dist. ([[Mile|Miles]]) ! style="width:25px" | Time ! style="width:25px" | Win [[United States dollar|$]] |- | style="text-align:center" | 1910 |Restigouche | style="text-align:center" | 5 |[[Carroll H. Shilling|Carroll Shilling]] |[[Sam Hildreth]] |[[Sam Hildreth]] | style="text-align:center" | {{frac|1|1|8}} mi |1:53.20 |$925 |- style="background-color:#eeeeee" | style="text-align:center" | 1908 | – 1909 | style="text-align:center" colspan=7 | ''Race not held due to the ramifications of the [[Hart–Agnew Law]]'' |- | style="text-align:center" | 1907 |Far West | style="text-align:center" | 5 |[[Joe Notter]] |John Miller |[[Morton L. Schwartz]] | style="text-align:center" | {{frac|1|1|8}} mi |1:53.00 |$2,355 |- | style="text-align:center" | 1906 |Dishabille | style="text-align:center" | 4 |[[Roscoe Troxler]] |Charles A. Mulholland |George C. Bennett | style="text-align:center" | {{frac|1|1|8}} mi |1:54.00 |$2,800 |- | style="text-align:center" | 1905 |[[Hermis]] | style="text-align:center" | 6 |[[Arthur Redfern]] |Alexander Shields |Alexander Shields | style="text-align:center" | {{frac|1|1|8}} mi |1:52.00 |$2,525 |- | style="text-align:center" | 1904 |Dainty | style="text-align:center" | 4 |[[Gene Hildebrand]] |[[Walter B. Jennings]] |Walter B. Jennings | style="text-align:center" | {{frac|1|1|8}} mi |1:51.60 |$2,845 |- | style="text-align:center" | 1903 |Golden Maxim | style="text-align:center" | 3 |Harry Cochran |[[James J. McLaughlin]] |J. P. Kramer | style="text-align:center" | {{frac|1|1|8}} mi |1:53.20 |$2,445 |- | style="text-align:center" | 1902 |[[Bonnibert]] | style="text-align:center" | 4 |[[Jack Martin (jockey)|Jack Martin]] |[[Thomas Welsh (horse trainer)|Thomas Welsh]] |[[Charles Louis Fleischmann|Charles Fleischman's]] Sons | style="text-align:center" | {{frac|1|1|8}} mi |1:51.00 |$1,740 |- | style="text-align:center" | 1901 |Blues | style="text-align:center" | 3 |[[Willie Shaw (jockey)|Willie Shaw]] |[[Thomas Welsh (horse trainer)|Thomas Welsh]] |Charles Fleischman's Sons | style="text-align:center" | {{frac|1|1|8}} mi |1:52.00 |$2,170 |- | style="text-align:center" | 1900 |[[Ethelbert (horse)|Ethelbert]] | style="text-align:center" | 4 |[[Nash Turner]] |[[A. Jack Joyner]] |[[Perry Belmont]] | style="text-align:center" | 1 mi |1:40.00 |$2,055 |- | style="text-align:center" | 1899 |[[Imp (horse)|Imp]] | style="text-align:center" | 5 |Peter Clay |[[Charles E. Brossman]] |Daniel R. Harness | style="text-align:center" | 1 mi |1:40.60 |$1,815 |- |}

==References== {{reflist}}

[[Category:1899 establishments in New York City]] [[Category:Discontinued horse races in New York (state)]] [[Category:Open mile category horse races]] [[Category:Horse races established in 1899]] [[Category:Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1911]] [[Category:Brighton Beach Race Course]] [[Category:Empire City Race Track]] [[Category:1909 disestablishments in New York (state)]] [[Category:Discontinued horse races in New York City]]