Gotham Stakes

The Gotham Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses run in early March at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. A Grade III event with a current purse of $400,000, it is set at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt. The race is named for New York City which in years past was often dubbed Gotham City.

The Gotham Stakes is the final local prep to the Wood Memorial Stakes and an official prep race for the Kentucky Derby. A number of Derby winners have competed in this race including U.S. Triple Crown winner, Secretariat.

The event was inaugurated in 1953 at Jamaica Racetrack but following the facility's closure was moved to Aqueduct Racetrack for the 1960 season. In 1958, the race was restricted to horses, four years of age and older. Since inception it has been competed at various distances:

•  1 ¹⁄₁₆ miles (8.5 furlongs) : 1953–1959, 1977, 1979, 2006 to present
• 1 mile : 1960–1976, 1978, 1980–2002, 2004–2005
• 1 mile, 70 yards : 1984, 2003

The race was run in two divisions in 1953, 1974, 1975, and 1983.

Records

Speed record:

• 1:42.65 - I Want Revenge (2009) (at current distance of  1 ¹⁄₁₆ miles)
• 1:32.40 - Easy Goer (1989) (Stakes and track record at 1 mile)

Most wins by a jockey:

• 3 - Jorge Velasquez (1969, 1978, 1980)
• 3 - Angel Cordero, Jr. (1970, 1975, 1991)
• 3 - Jacinto Vasquez (1976, 1979, 1986)
• 3 - Richard Migliore (1985, 2003, 2005)
• 3 - Mike E. Smith (1990, 1992, 1995)

Most wins by a trainer:

• 3 - Claude R. McGaughey III (1989, 1992, 2005)

Most wins by an owner:

• 2 - Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney (1954, 1956)
• 2 - Claiborne Farm (1969, 1992)
• 2 - Locust Hill Farm (1983, 1988)

Winners of the Gotham Stakes

See also

• Road to the Kentucky Derby