The Mount Vernon Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run in twenty-one of the years between 1907 and 1930 at Empire City Race Track in Yonkers, New York with one year only in 1915 at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. There was no race held from 1911 thru 1913 as a result of anti-betting legislation passed by the New York Legislature under Governor Charles Evans Hughes. Titled the Hart-Agnew, transgressors of the law faced substantial fines and up to a year in prison.
First run on August 7, 1913, the Mount Vernon Handicap was a sprint race of about three-quarters of a mile and was won by Samuel Hyman's five-year-old gelding, Quadrille. The following year the race was changed to one mile, a distance that would continue thru 1924 when it was increased to one mile and seventy yards.
Andrew Miller’s 1918 winner Roamer would have a career that saw him receive American Thoroughbred racing’s highest honor with induction into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
In winning the 1924 Mount Vernon Handicap, August Belmont Jr.'s Ordinance broke the track record for the one mile distance on dirt. The three-year-old colt's time of 1:38 flat would hold up as the Mount Vernon Handicap's fastest time at the Empire City track.
Records Speed record: 1:36.60 @ 1 mile : Sam Jackson (1915) (Aqueduct Racetrack) 1:38.00 @ 1 mile : Ordinance (1924) (Empire City Race Track) 1:42.80 @ 1 mile, 70 yards : Sarazen (1926)
Most wins: No horse won this race more than once.
Most wins by a jockey: 2 - John Callahan (1925, 1927)
Most wins by a trainer: No trainer won this race more than once.
Most wins by an owner: 2 - August Belmont Jr. (1909, 1924)
Winners Year Winner Age Jockey Trainer Owner (Miles) Time Win $1930Questionnaire3Alfred RobertsonAndy SchuttingerJames Butler1m, 70yds1:45.00$4,5701929Light Carbine6George C. RoseMichael J. DunleavyIra B. Humphreys1m, 70yds1:44.40$5,1801928Juggler4Edward WattersStephen J. LawlerArthur H. Waterman1m, 70yds1:46.00$5,5451927Dolan3John CallahanEdward W. HeffnerEdward F. Cooney1m, 70yds1:44.80$5,1301926Sarazen5Fritz WeinerMax HirschFair Stable1m, 70yds1:42.80$4,8451925Sun Pal4John CallahanSelby BurchLee Rosenberg1m, 70yds1:44.00$5,2501924Ordinance3Clarence KummerLouis FeustelAugust Belmont Jr.1 m1:38.00$6,7451923Brainstorm4Benny MarinelliJoseph EdwardsMirasol Stable (Henry Waterson)1 m1:39.00$6,0401922Dr. Clark5Mack GarnerMose GoldblattMose Goldblatt1 m1:39.00$5,2051921Naturalist7Clarence TurnerThomas WelshJoseph E. Widener1 m1:40.40$4,5301920Irish Dream3Tommy RowanCharles WhiteKilrane Stable1 m1:40.80$3,1701919Lucullite4Laverne FatorSam HildrethSam Hildreth1 m1:40.40$2,3251918Roamer7Lawrence LykeA. J. GoldsboroughAndrew Miller1 m1:40.20$2,3251917St. Isidore 4Morris RowanGeorge M. OdomBrighton Stable1 m1:40.20$2,3251916Boots5Robert HoffmanWalter C. JenningsOscar Lewisohn1 m1:39.00$2,1801915Sam Jackson7Tommy McTaggartJack L. McGinnisT. J. O'Brien1 m1:36.60$1,8751914Surprising3Merritt C. BuxtonRichard F. Carman Sr.Richard F. Carman Sr.1 m1:40.60$1,9851913 No races held due to New York State’s Hart–Agnew Law1911/121910Hanbridge5Frederick HerbertGeorge HamGeorge H. Holle1 m1:41.20$1,9251909Half Sovereign4Eddie DuganJohn WhalenAugust Belmont Jr.1 m1:39.00$1,9251908Jack Atkin4Joe NotterHerman R. BrandtBarney Schreiber1 m1:40.80$2,3901907Quadrille5Herman MoeselRichard E. WatkinsSamuel Hyman6 F (±)1:09.20$1,630
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