The Carlton Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run annually from 1887 thru 1910 at Gravesend Race Track in the Gravesend neighbourhood of Brooklyn, New York. An event run at a distance of one mile on a dirt surface, the Carlton often attracted some of the top-level horses in the country. However, in its second running the New York Times called the 1888 Carlton Stakes a “Complete farce” because there were only four runners scheduled to run in the one mile event but Now or Never, owned by Alexander Cassatt, plus Lucky Baldwin’s future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Emperor of Norfolk were both withdrawn. As a result, Sir Dixon, ridden by future Hall of Fame jockey Jim McLaughlin, and Raceland with Andrew Godfrey aboard, were the only starters.
Demise In 1908, the administration of Governor Charles Evans Hughes signed into law the Hart–Agnew bill that effectively banned all racetrack betting in the state of New York. The legislation allowed for fines and up to a year in prison which was strictly enforced. A 1910 amendment to the Hart–Agnew legislation added further restrictions that made the owners and directors of a racetrack personally liable for any betting done on their premises, with or without their consent. Such an onerous liability was intolerable and meant that by 1911 all racetracks in the state ceased operations. Although a February 21, 1913, ruling by the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division paved the way for racing to resume that year, by then it was too late for horse racing at Gravesend Race Track and it went out of business.
A short-lived revival In 1914, a race with the same name and conditions was created at the Aqueduct Racetrack located in the Queens borough of New York City. It would not be run again until the Aqueduct management revived it in 1921 but was permanently dropped from the schedule after the 1924 edition.
Records Speed record: 1:38.80 Dinna Kin (1907) @ Gravesend Race Track 1:36.60 Whiskaway (1922) @ Aqueduct Racetrack
Most wins by a jockey: (2) Jim McLaughlin (1887, 1988) Fred Littlefield (1889, 1891) John Lamley (1893, 1895) Willie Simms (1896, 1897) Henry Spencer (1898, 1901) Tommy Burns (1902, 1903)
Most wins by a trainer: 5 - James G. Rowe Sr. (1898, 1901, 1909, 1910, 1922)
Most wins by an owner: 4 - James R. Keene (1894, 1901, 1909, 1910)
Winners Year Winner Jockey Trainer Owner Dist. (Miles) Time Win$At Aqueduct Racetrack1924LadkinJohn MaibenLouis FeustelAugust Belmont Jr.1 M1:36.80$7,3501923DunlinChick LangWilliam M. GarthJoshua S. Cosden1 M1:37.80$6,5501922WhiskawayLester PenmanJames G. Rowe Sr.Harry Payne Whitney1 M1:36.60$6,1001921KnobbieEarl SandeSam HildrethRancocas Stable1 M1:38.20$6,4501915 - 1920 Race not held1914Luke McLukeMerritt BuxtonJohn F. SchorrJohn W. Schorr1 M1:38.80$5,125At Gravesend Racetrack1910SweepVincent PowersJames G. Rowe Sr.James R. Keene1 M1:39.20$1,9001909HilariousJames ButwellJames G. Rowe Sr.James R. Keene1 M1:41.20$4,8151908ChapultepecDave R. McDanielFred BurlewB & O Stable (Fred Burlew & Frank O'Neill)1 M1:39.40$6,7901907Dinna KinCharles KoernerJohn W. RogersHarry Payne Whitney1 M1:38.80$5,4551906BurgomsterLucien LyneJohn W. RogersHarry Payne Whitney1 M1:41.60$4,3801905CairngormWillie DavisA. Jack JoynerSidney Paget1 M1:41.60$3,2001904MontresonArthur RedfernThomas J. HealeyRichard T. Wilson Jr.1 M1:43.20$6,1001903ReliableTommy BurnsJohn W. RogersWilliam Collins Whitney1 M1:40.00$4,1501902King HanoverTommy Burns John W. RogersWilliam Collins Whitney1 M1:40.20$3,8501901CommandoHenry SpencerJames G. Rowe Sr.James R. Keene1 M1:39.40$3,8501900StandingNash TurnerRichard "Dick" Roche Richard "Dick" Roche1 M1:40.75$5,1501899Lothario Henry "Skeets" MartinWilliam C. SmithGeorge E. Smith1 M1:42.00$3,8501898The HuguenotHenry SpencerJames G. Rowe Sr.William P. & Lewis S. Thompson1 M1:45.25$3,8501897 Don de OroWillie SimmsJohn J. Hyland August Belmont Jr.1 M1:44.75$3,8501896HandspringWillie SimmsFrank McCabePhilip J. Dwyer1 M1:43.00$3,8501895Counter TenorJohn LamleyWilliam LakelandJacob Ruppert Jr.1 M1:44.50$3,8501894HornpipeFred TaralWilliam LakelandJames R. & Foxhall P. Keene1 M1:43.75$5,5801893Prince GeorgeJohn LamleyHardy Campbell Jr.Richard Croker1 M1:46.00$3,2901892CharadeEdward H. GarrisonWilliam R. JonesWilliam R. Jones1 M1:44.00$4,5101891RussellFred LittlefieldR. Wyndham WaldenJohn A. & Alfred H. Morris1 M1:45.00$4,4201890KenwoodMarty Bergen W. H. "Dutch" RollerGeorge Walbaum1 M1:42.50$5,1301889CarrollFred LittlefieldJoe Cotton1 M1:42.50$4,1301888Sir DixonJim McLaughlinFrank McCabeDwyer Brothers Stable1 M1:56.75$1,9551887HanoverJim McLaughlinFrank McCabeDwyer Brothers Stable1 M1:43.25$2,070
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