The Bay Ridge Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run from 1901 through 1910 at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, 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-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 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. 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.
Records Speed record: 1 ¼ miles: 2:04.40 – Effendi (1909)
Most wins by a jockey: 2 – Willie Shaw (1901, 1906)
Most wins by a trainer: no trainer won this race more than once
Most wins by an owner: 2 – no owner won this race more than once
Winners Year Winner Age Jockey Trainer Owner Dist. (Miles) Time Win$1910Hampton Court3Carroll H. ShillingSam HildrethSam Hildreth1 M1:54.40$5801909Effendi3William F. DoyleFrank C. FrisbieW. T. Ryan1 M2:04.40$4851908Old Honesty4Joe NotterAndrew J. GoreyAndrew J. Gorey1 M2:06.20$5101907Gallavant4Guy GarnerT. J. HealeyRichard T. Wilson Jr.1 M2:07.00$3,0251906Ram's Horn4Willie ShawW. S. (Wink) WilliamsW. S. (Wink) Williams1 M2:05.60$3,2251905Cairngorm3Willie DavisA. Jack JoynerSydney Paget1 M2:08.20$3,1501904Proper4Gene HildebrandWalter B. JenningsWalter B. Jennings1 M2:06.20$3,2501903Blues5John J. HoarFrank D. WeirFrank J. Farrell1 M2:10.20$1,6301902Advance Guard5Otto WonderlyAlexander ShieldsJames Carruthers & Alexander Shields1 M2:07.20$1,0801901Kamara4Willie ShawCharles F. HillClarence H. Mackay1 M2:06.40$1,085
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