The Great Eastern Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race first run in 1883 at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. A race for two-year-old horses of either sex, it was run on dirt over a distance of 6 furlongs.
The end of a race and of a racetrack The Great Eastern Handicap was last run in September 1909 after the Republican controlled New York Legislature under Governor Charles Evans Hughes passed the 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. Racetrack operators had no choice but to drastically reduce the purse money being paid out which resulted in the Great Eastern Handicap offering a purse in 1909 that was one-quarter 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. As such, for the 1910 racing season management of the Sheepshead Bay facility dropped some of its minor stakes races and used the purse money to bolster its most important events. 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.
Historical notes Jockey LaVerne Sewell, who won the 1906 edition, was killed in a racing accident later that year at Aqueduct Racetrack on November 9. In its story on the accident, the Pittsburgh Press called Sewell one of the most promising riders in the East. Sewell's death had been the fourth on the Eastern racetracks so far that year.
Race distances: 6 furlongs: 1883–1889, 1901–1909 5.75 furlongs: 1890–1900 (Futurity course 1263 yards, 1 foot)
Records Speed record: 5.75 furlongs: 1:09.20 – Black Venus (1898) 6 furlongs: 1:10.60 – Sewell (1906)
Most wins by a jockey: 2 – Edward Garrison (1883, 1892) 2 – Anthony Hamilton (1887, 1893) 2 – Fred Taral (1896, 1897)
Most wins by a trainer: Ŧ 3 – A. Jack Joyner (1892, 1903, 1904)
Most wins by an owner: 2 – Blemton Stable (August Belmont Jr.) (1892, 1893) 2 – John E. Madden (1897, 1907)
Ŧ based on 23 of the 27 years the race was run.
Winners Year Winner Age Jockey Trainer Owner Dist. (Miles) Time Win$1909Livonia2Eddie MartinMax HirschMax Hirsch6 F1:12.40$1,4251908Mediant2Dalton McCarthyJohn HugginsHerman B. Duryea6 F1:11.20$5,8501907Meelick2Eddie DuganJohn E. MaddenJohn E. Madden6 F1:13.20$5,8501906Sewell2LaVerne SewellCharles E. RoweCharles E. Rowe6 F1:10.60$5,8501905Burgomaster2Gene HildebrandJohn W. Rogers Harry Payne Whitney6 F1:12.80$5,8501904Tradition2Lucien LyneA. Jack JoynerSydney Paget6 F1:11.60$5,9251903Lady Amelia2Jack MartinWoodford ClayWoodford Clay6 F1:12.00$5,8501902Golden Maxim2Frank LandryJames J. McLaughlinJ. P. Kramer6 F1:14.40$5,9251901Endurance by Right2Johnny WoodsJohn F. SchorrJohn W. Schorr6 F1:13.00$5,8501900Beau Gallant2John BullmanSam HildrethSam Hildreth5.75 F1:12.80$5,8501899Mesmerist2Winfield O'ConnorJulius BauerBromley & Co. (Joseph E. Bromley & Arthur Featherstone)5.75 F1:10.40$3,9701898Black Venus2Tod SloanH. Eugene LeighElla O. Pepper5.75 F1:09.20$3,9001897Hamburg2Fred TaralJohn E. MaddenJohn E. Madden5.75 F1:10.20$3,9751896Ogden2Fred TaralWilliam LakelandMarcus Daly5.75 F1:10.00$3,8401895One I Love2Samuel DoggettJohn J. HylandWilliam P. Thompson5.75 F1:10.20$3,9251894Gutta Percha2Fred LittlefieldR. Wyndham WaldenJ. A. Morris, A. H. & D. H. Morris5.75 F1:10.00$3,9001893Jack of Spades2Anthony Hamilton A. Jack JoynerBlemton Stable (August Belmont Jr.)5.75 F1:13.00$7,9001892Lady Violet2Edward GarrisonA. Jack JoynerBlemton Stable (August Belmont Jr.)5.75 F1:10.20$7,3401891Ludwig2Marty BergenJohn Daly5.75 F1:10.40$8,6631890Sallie McClelland2Shelby BarnesByron McClellandByron McClelland5.75 F1:14.40$8,2741889Tournament2William R. MidgelyMatthew M. AllenGeorge Hearst6 F1:17.00$8,3371888Diablo2Jim McLaughlinJames H. DumasCastle Stable (Mr. A. Kraemer)6 F1:17.00$6,9201887Raceland2Anthony HamiltonFrank McCabeJoseph F. Ullman6 F1:15.75$7,5081886King Fox2John SpellmanJames MurphyJames B. A. Haggin6 F1:15.00$7,2981885Dew Drop2Harris OlneyMatthew ByrnesRancocas Stable (Pierre Lorillard)6 F1:16.75$7,5921884Ten Stone2J. CaldwellGreen B. MorrisMorris & Patton6 F1:16.50$7,7101883Dutch Roller2Edward GarrisonJames R. Keene6 F1:17.00$6,137
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