Gravesend Race Track: Difference between revisions

Gravesend Race Track
	Crowd at the 1893 Brooklyn Handicap won by Diabolo at Gravesend Race Track
	Gravesend Race Track Location within New York City Gravesend Race Track Gravesend Race Track (New York)
Location	Gravesend, Brooklyn,; New York 11225
Coordinates	40°36′04″N 73°58′10″W / 40.60111°N 73.96944°W
Owner	Brooklyn Jockey Club
Surface	Natural Grass (turf)
Construction
Opened	1886
Closed	1907
Demolished	1922

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"The Picket" winning the 1904 Brooklyn Handicap at Gravesend Race Track

Gravesend Race Track was a Thoroughbred horse racing facility in the Gravesend neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, that opened in 1886 and closed in 1910. The track was built by the Brooklyn Jockey Club with the backing of Philip and Michael Dwyer, two wealthy racing stable owners known as the Dwyer Brothers.^[4] Philip, the controlling shareholder of the Brooklyn Jockey Club, served as its president.

Gravesend Race Track hosted the Preakness Stakes for fifteen years.

History

Opened on August 26, 1886, its first executive board consisted of:^[5]

The facility covered an area which extended from McDonald Avenue (then Gravesend Avenue) to Ocean Parkway, and from Kings Highway to Avenue U.^[6]^[7] This land had previously been occupied by the Prospect Park Fair Grounds, a slightly smaller and far more modest race course which had been used for harness racing. The facility was enclosed by a twelve-foot wooden fence and boasted an ornate two-story "double decker" grand stand of yellow Georgia pine with a bar and restaurant built into its brick base. A spur was created that allowed trains running along the Prospect Park & Coney Island railroad line to stop within the facility and discharge passengers at a small station that led directly to the grand stand via a covered walkway. At the southern end of the facility stood the offices of the Brooklyn Jockey Club, as well as the dressing rooms for the jockeys. The northern end was occupied by the betting pavilion and carriage sheds. The eastern side, which ran along the tree-lined boulevard of Ocean Parkway (where impromptu training races often took place), was occupied by the clubhouse.

“Brooklyn Jockey Club” with race course, club house, stables and betting pavilion on 1889 map.

During its time, the racetrack executive included superintendent Ben Brush in whose honor the future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame horse Ben Brush was named. Among the major graded stakes races launched at the track were the Astoria Stakes, Brooklyn Handicap, Brooklyn Derby, Tremont Stakes, and the Gazelle Handicap. For the fifteen years from 1894 through 1908, Gravesend Race Track hosted one of the American Classic Races, the Preakness Stakes.^[8]

In 1908, the administration of Governor Charles Evans Hughes signed into law the Hart–Agnew bill that effectively banned all racetrack betting in New York State. A 1910 amendment to the legislation added further restrictions that meant by 1911 all racetracks in the state ceased operations. Although the law was repealed in time to resume racing in 1913, the Gravesend Race Track never reopened and the land was eventually sold to real-estate developers in 1920.^[4]

Today, the annual Gravesend Handicap at Aqueduct Racetrack honors the former racing facility.

Thoroughbred stakes races at Gravesend Race Track

Flat races

Steeplechase races

Greater New York Steeplechase Handicap
Hitchcock Steeplechase Handicap

Other defunct New York race tracks

References

^ "Surprises on the Turf – Fast Time on the Gravesend Race Track – Adonis Wins the Handicap Sweepstatkes and Pontico Also Runs to the Front". The New York Times. October 8, 1886. p. 3. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
^ "Convert Gravesend Track – Residential District Will Replace Famous Race Track". The New York Times. March 5, 1922. p. RE24. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
^ "The Brooklyn Market – Trading Shows Demand for Apartments and Dwellings". The New York Times. March 31, 1923. p. 17. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
^ ^a ^b Hale, Ron (1997). "New York Tracks – A Short History". about.com. Archived from the original on 2010-03-22. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
^ "Sport Among the Racers; New Track of the Brooklyn Jockey Club". The New York Times. August 23, 1886. p. 8. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
^ Brooklyn, NY Quadrangle (Map). 1:62,500. 15 Minute Series (Topographic). United States Geological Survey. 1891. § SW. Archived from the original on 2010-05-26. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
^ "Last of Brooklyn's Once Famous Race Tracks Succumbs to March of Housing Development – The Old Sheepshead Bay Track, Bisected by the Proposed Subway Extension, Cut Up Into Small Building Plots – To Be Sold at Public Auction on Saturday Next". The New York Times. August 26, 1923. p. RE2. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
^ "Preakness Stakes Early History". www.preakness-stakes.info. Archived from the original on 2015-04-13. Retrieved 2010-01-16.

External links

Video from the Library of Congress of the 1904 Brooklyn Handicap at Gravesend Race Track

40°36′04″N 73°58′10″W / 40.60111°N 73.96944°W / 40.60111; -73.96944

[1] "Surprises on the Turf – Fast Time on the Gravesend Race Track – Adonis Wins the Handicap Sweepstatkes and Pontico Also Runs to the Front". The New York Times. October 8, 1886. p. 3. Retrieved June 12, 2018.

[2] "Convert Gravesend Track – Residential District Will Replace Famous Race Track". The New York Times. March 5, 1922. p. RE24. Retrieved June 12, 2018.

[3] "The Brooklyn Market – Trading Shows Demand for Apartments and Dwellings". The New York Times. March 31, 1923. p. 17. Retrieved June 12, 2018.

[about.com-4] Hale, Ron (1997). "New York Tracks – A Short History". about.com. Archived from the original on 2010-03-22. Retrieved 2010-01-16.

[5] "Sport Among the Racers; New Track of the Brooklyn Jockey Club". The New York Times. August 23, 1886. p. 8. Retrieved 2010-01-16.

[6] Brooklyn, NY Quadrangle (Map). 1:62,500. 15 Minute Series (Topographic). United States Geological Survey. 1891. § SW. Archived from the original on 2010-05-26. Retrieved 2010-02-13.

[7] "Last of Brooklyn's Once Famous Race Tracks Succumbs to March of Housing Development – The Old Sheepshead Bay Track, Bisected by the Proposed Subway Extension, Cut Up Into Small Building Plots – To Be Sold at Public Auction on Saturday Next". The New York Times. August 26, 1923. p. RE2. Retrieved June 12, 2018.

[8] "Preakness Stakes Early History". www.preakness-stakes.info. Archived from the original on 2015-04-13. Retrieved 2010-01-16.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Horse racing course in Brooklyn, New York}}
-{{Infobox stadium
+{{Infobox venue
 | image             = [[File:Gravesend racetrack - 1893.jpg|250px]]
 |caption = Crowd at the 1893 [[Brooklyn Handicap]] won by Diabolo at Gravesend Race Track
@@ Line 10: / Line 11: @@
 | opened            = 1886
 | closed            = 1907
-| demolished        = 1922<ref>{{cite news |title=Convert Gravesend Track – Residential District Will Replace Famous Race Track |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1922/03/05/archives/convert-gravesend-track-residential-district-will-replace-famous.html |accessdate=June 12, 2018 |work=New York Times |date=March 5, 1922|page=RE24}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The Brooklyn Market - Trading Shows Demand for Apartments and Dwellings. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/03/31/archives/the-brooklyn-market-trading-shows-demand-for-apartments-and.html |accessdate=June 12, 2018 |work=New York Times |date=March 31, 1923|page=17}}</ref>
+| demolished        = 1922<ref>{{cite news |title=Convert Gravesend Track – Residential District Will Replace Famous Race Track |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1922/03/05/archives/convert-gravesend-track-residential-district-will-replace-famous.html |access-date=June 12, 2018 |work=The New York Times |date=March 5, 1922|page=RE24}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The Brooklyn Market – Trading Shows Demand for Apartments and Dwellings. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/03/31/archives/the-brooklyn-market-trading-shows-demand-for-apartments-and.html |access-date=June 12, 2018 |work=The New York Times |date=March 31, 1923|page=17}}</ref>
 | owner             = Brooklyn Jockey Club
 | operator          =
-| surface           = Natural Grass (turf)<ref>{{cite news |title=Surprises on the Turf – Fast Time on the Gravesend Race Track – Adonis Wins the Handicap Sweepstatkes and Pontico Also Runs to the Front|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1886/10/08/archives/surprises-on-the-turf-fast-time-on-the-gravesend-race-track-adonis.html |accessdate=June 12, 2018 |work=New York Times |date=October 8, 1886|page=3}}</ref>
+| surface           = Natural Grass (turf)<ref>{{cite news |title=Surprises on the Turf – Fast Time on the Gravesend Race Track – Adonis Wins the Handicap Sweepstatkes and Pontico Also Runs to the Front|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1886/10/08/archives/surprises-on-the-turf-fast-time-on-the-gravesend-race-track-adonis.html |access-date=June 12, 2018 |work=The New York Times |date=October 8, 1886|page=3}}</ref>
 | construction_cost =
 | architect         =
@@ Line 21: / Line 22: @@
 | dimensions        =
 }}
 [[Image:1904Brooklyn Handicap.jpg|thumb|350px|"The Picket" winning the 1904 [[Brooklyn Handicap]] at Gravesend Race Track]]
-'''Gravesend Race Track''' at [[Gravesend, Brooklyn|Gravesend]] on [[Coney Island]], [[New York (state)|New York]] was a [[Thoroughbred horse race|Thoroughbred horse racing]] facility that opened in 1886 and closed in 1910. The track was built by the Brooklyn Jockey Club with the backing of [[Philip J. Dwyer|Philip]] and [[Michael F. Dwyer|Michael Dwyer]], two wealthy racing stable owners known as the [[Dwyer Brothers Stable|Dwyer Brothers]].<ref name="about.com">{{cite web |url=http://horseracing.about.com/library/blnytracks.htm |first=Ron
+'''Gravesend Race Track''' was a [[Thoroughbred horse race|Thoroughbred horse racing]] facility in the [[Gravesend, Brooklyn|Gravesend]] neighborhood of [[Brooklyn]], New York, that opened in 1886 and closed in 1910. The track was built by the Brooklyn Jockey Club with the backing of [[Philip J. Dwyer|Philip]] and [[Michael F. Dwyer|Michael Dwyer]], two wealthy racing stable owners known as the [[Dwyer Brothers Stable|Dwyer Brothers]].<ref name="about.com">{{cite web |url=http://horseracing.about.com/library/blnytracks.htm |first=Ron |last=Hale |title=New York Tracks – A Short History |year=1997 |work=about.com |access-date=2010-01-16 |archive-date=2010-03-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100322210431/http://horseracing.about.com/library/blnytracks.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Philip J. Dwyer|Philip]], the controlling shareholder of the Brooklyn Jockey Club, served as its president.
- |last=Hale |title=New York Tracks - A Short History |year=1997 |work=about.com |accessdate=2010-01-16}}</ref> [[Philip J. Dwyer|Philip]], the controlling shareholder of the Brooklyn Jockey Club, served as its president.
 Gravesend Race Track hosted the [[Preakness Stakes]] for fifteen years.
 ==History==
-Opened on August 26, 1886, its first executive board consisted of:<ref>{{cite news |title=Sport Among the Racers; New Track of the Brooklyn Jockey Club |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E00EEDC1130E533A25750C2A96E9C94679FD7CF |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 23, 1886 |page=8 |accessdate=2010-01-16}}</ref>
+Opened on August 26, 1886, its first executive board consisted of:<ref>{{cite news |title=Sport Among the Racers; New Track of the Brooklyn Jockey Club |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E00EEDC1130E533A25750C2A96E9C94679FD7CF |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 23, 1886 |page=8 |access-date=2010-01-16}}</ref>
 * [[William Lawrence Scott|Col. William L. Scott]]
 * [[James Ben Ali Haggin]]
@@ Line 35: / Line 36: @@
 * [[Samuel S. Brown|Capt. Samuel S. Brown]]
-The facility covered an area which extended from McDonald Avenue (then Gravesend Avenue) to [[Ocean Parkway (Brooklyn)|Ocean Parkway]], and from [[Kings Highway (Brooklyn)|Kings Highway]] to [[Avenue U]].<ref>{{cite map |publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]] |title=Brooklyn, NY Quadrangle |url=http://docs.unh.edu/nhtopos/Brooklyn.htm |year=1891 |scale=1:62,500 |series=15 Minute Series (Topographic) |section=SW |accessdate=2010-02-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Last of Brooklyn's Once Famous Race Tracks Succumbs to March of Housing Development – The Old Sheepshead Bay Track, Bisected by the Proposed Subway Extension, Cut Up Into Small Building Plots – To Be Sold at Public Auction on Saturday Next |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/08/26/archives/last-of-brooklyns-once-famous-race-tracks-succumbs-to-march-of.html |accessdate=June 12, 2018 |work=New York Times |date=August 26, 1923|page=RE2}}</ref> This land had previously been occupied by the Prospect Park Fair Grounds, a slightly smaller and far more modest race course which had been used for [[harness racing]]. The facility was enclosed by a twelve-foot wooden fence and boasted an ornate two-story "double decker" grand stand of yellow Georgia pine with a bar and restaurant built into its brick base. A spur was created that allowed trains running along the [[Culver Line (surface)|Prospect Park & Coney Island railroad line]] to stop within the facility and discharge passengers at a small station that led directly to the grand stand via a covered walkway. At the southern end of the facility stood the offices of the Brooklyn Jockey Club, as well as the dressing rooms for the jockeys. The northern end was occupied by the betting pavilion and carriage sheds. The eastern side, which ran along the tree-lined boulevard of Ocean Parkway (where impromptu training races often took place), was occupied by the clubhouse.
+The facility covered an area which extended from [[McDonald Avenue]] (then Gravesend Avenue) to [[Ocean Parkway (Brooklyn)|Ocean Parkway]], and from [[Kings Highway (Brooklyn)|Kings Highway]] to [[Avenue U]].<ref>{{cite map |publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]] |title=Brooklyn, NY Quadrangle |url=http://docs.unh.edu/nhtopos/Brooklyn.htm |year=1891 |scale=1:62,500 |series=15 Minute Series (Topographic) |section=SW |access-date=2010-02-13 |archive-date=2010-05-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100526100251/http://docs.unh.edu/nhtopos/Brooklyn.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Last of Brooklyn's Once Famous Race Tracks Succumbs to March of Housing Development – The Old Sheepshead Bay Track, Bisected by the Proposed Subway Extension, Cut Up Into Small Building Plots – To Be Sold at Public Auction on Saturday Next |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/08/26/archives/last-of-brooklyns-once-famous-race-tracks-succumbs-to-march-of.html |access-date=June 12, 2018 |work=The New York Times |date=August 26, 1923|page=RE2}}</ref> This land had previously been occupied by the Prospect Park Fair Grounds, a slightly smaller and far more modest race course which had been used for [[harness racing]]. The facility was enclosed by a twelve-foot wooden fence and boasted an ornate two-story "double decker" grand stand of yellow Georgia pine with a bar and restaurant built into its brick base. A spur was created that allowed trains running along the [[Culver Line (surface)|Prospect Park & Coney Island railroad line]] to stop within the facility and discharge passengers at a small station that led directly to the grand stand via a covered walkway. At the southern end of the facility stood the offices of the Brooklyn Jockey Club, as well as the dressing rooms for the jockeys. The northern end was occupied by the betting pavilion and carriage sheds. The eastern side, which ran along the tree-lined boulevard of Ocean Parkway (where impromptu training races often took place), was occupied by the clubhouse.
+[[File:“Brooklyn Jockey Club” (race course, club house, stables and betting pavilion) - NYPL1519739 (cropped).tiff|thumb|332x332px|“Brooklyn Jockey Club” with race course, club house, stables and betting pavilion on 1889 map.]]
-During its time, the racetrack executive included superintendent Ben Brush in whose honor the future [[National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame|U.S. Racing Hall of Fame]] horse [[Ben Brush]] was named. Among the major [[graded stakes race]]s launched at the track were the [[Astoria Stakes]], [[Brooklyn Handicap]], [[Dwyer Stakes|Brooklyn Derby]], [[Tremont Stakes]], and the [[Gazelle Handicap]]. For the fifteen years from 1894 through 1908, Gravesend Race Track hosted one of the [[American Classic Races]], the [[Preakness Stakes]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.preakness-stakes.info/history.php |title=Preakness Stakes Early History |work=www.preakness-stakes.info |accessdate=2010-01-16 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150413041929/http://www.preakness-stakes.info/history.php |archivedate=2015-04-13 |df= }}</ref>
+During its time, the racetrack executive included superintendent Ben Brush in whose honor the future [[National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame|U.S. Racing Hall of Fame]] horse [[Ben Brush]] was named. Among the major [[graded stakes race]]s launched at the track were the [[Astoria Stakes]], [[Brooklyn Handicap]], [[Dwyer Stakes|Brooklyn Derby]], [[Tremont Stakes]], and the [[Gazelle Handicap]]. For the fifteen years from 1894 through 1908, Gravesend Race Track hosted one of the [[American Classic Races]], the [[Preakness Stakes]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.preakness-stakes.info/history.php |title=Preakness Stakes Early History |work=www.preakness-stakes.info |access-date=2010-01-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150413041929/http://www.preakness-stakes.info/history.php |archive-date=2015-04-13 }}</ref>
-In 1908, the administration of [[List of Governors of New York|Governor]] [[Charles Evans Hughes]] signed into law the [[Hart-Agnew Law|Hart-Agnew]] bill that effectively banned all racetrack [[gambling|betting]] in New York State. A 1910 amendment to the legislation added further restrictions that meant by 1911 all racetracks in the state ceased operations. Although the law was repealed in time to resume racing in 1913, the Gravesend Race Track never reopened and the land was eventually sold to [[real-estate developer]]s in 1920.<ref name="about.com"/>
+In 1908, the administration of [[List of Governors of New York|Governor]] [[Charles Evans Hughes]] signed into law the [[Hart–Agnew Law|Hart–Agnew bill]] that effectively banned all racetrack [[gambling|betting]] in New York State. A 1910 amendment to the legislation added further restrictions that meant by 1911 all racetracks in the state ceased operations. Although the law was repealed in time to resume racing in 1913, the Gravesend Race Track never reopened and the land was eventually sold to [[real-estate developer]]s in 1920.<ref name="about.com"/>
 Today, the annual [[Gravesend Handicap]] at [[Aqueduct Racetrack]] honors the former racing facility.
@@ Line 50: / Line 51: @@
 * [[Bedford Stakes]]
 * [[Broadway Stakes]]
+* [[Brookdale Handicap]]
 * [[Brooklyn Handicap]]
 * [[Carlton Stakes]]
+* [[Castleton Stakes]]
+* [[Clover Stakes]]
 * [[Criterion Stakes (Gravesend)|Criterion Stakes]]
+* [[Culver Handicap]]
 * [[Dwyer Stakes|Brooklyn Derby]]
 * [[Expectation Stakes]]
@@ Line 64: / Line 69: @@
 * [[Hudson Stakes]]
 * [[Junior Champion Stakes (Gravesend)|Junior Champion Stakes]]
+* [[Manhanset Stakes]]
 * [[Myrtle Stakes]]
 * [[Occidental Handicap]]
@@ Line 73: / Line 79: @@
 * [[Seabreeze Stakes]]
 * [[Speculation Stakes]]
+* [[Standard Stakes]]
 * [[Tremont Stakes]]
-* [[Waldorf Stakes]]
 * [[Willow Handicap]]
 {{div col end}}
@@ Line 84: / Line 90: @@
 == Other defunct New York race tracks ==
 * [[Brighton Beach Race Course]]
-* [[Jamaica Racetrack]]
+* [[Jamaica Race Course]]
 * [[Jerome Park Racetrack]]
 * [[Morris Park Racecourse]]
@@ Line 98: / Line 104: @@
 {{Preakness Stakes}}
+{{Authority control}}
-{{coord|40|36|04|N|73|58|10|W |display=title}}
+{{Coord|40|36|04|N|73|58|10|W |display=title}}
-[[Category:Gravesend Race Track]]
+[[Category:Gravesend Race Track| ]]
-[[Category:Defunct horse racing venues in New York (state)]]
+[[Category:Defunct horse racing venues in New York City]]
 [[Category:Sports venues in Brooklyn]]
-[[Category:Coney Island]]
+[[Category:Gravesend, Brooklyn]]
 [[Category:1886 establishments in New York (state)]]
 [[Category:1911 disestablishments in New York (state)]]

v t e Preakness Stakes
Pimlico	1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1885 1886 1888 1889
Morris Park	1890 (1891–1893 race not run)
Gravesend	1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907
Pimlico	1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Related	Top four finishers Broadcasters "Maryland, My Maryland" Woodlawn Vase Triple Crown
Preakness Stakes Winners

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	Israel United States