Garden State Stakes

Garden State Stakes
Discontinued horse race
LocationGarden State Park Racetrack
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Race typeThoroughbredFlat racing
Race information
Distancevarious
SurfaceDirt and Turf
Trackleft-handed
QualificationTwo-years-old

The Garden State Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in mid November at the now defunct Garden State Park Racetrack in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. A futurity event for two-year-olds, it is sometimes referred to as the Garden State Futurity. By 1956, the total purse offered was more than $300,000 (including all nomination and starting fees), making it the richest horse race in the world.[1]

The race was contested on dirt until 1994 when it was changed to a race on turf. It was raced at various distances:

  • On dirt:
  • Inception – 1952: 6 furlongs on dirt
  • 1953–1972, 1993: 1+116 miles on dirt
  • 1985–1992: 1+18 miles on dirt
  • 1998 : 1 mile on dirt (1998 race switched from turf due to heavy rains)
  • On turf:
  • 1994–1995 : 1+116 miles on turf
  • 1996–1997, 1999 : 1 mile on turf

In 1955, the racetrack created a counterpart for fillies called the Gardenia Stakes.[2]

The Garden State Stakes was placed on hiatus in 1973 and after a fire destroyed the racetrack on April 14, 1977[3] it would not be run again until a new track was built by International Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. through its wholly owned subsidiary, Garden State Race Track, Inc. headed by Robert E. Brennan that opened on April 1, 1985.[4] The March 18, 2000 issue of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the Garden State Stakes had been cancelled for financial reasons.[5]

  1. ^ St. Petersburg Times – October 27, 1956
  2. ^ "Baltimore Sun – October 16, 1955". Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  3. ^ "Chicago Tribune – April 15, 1977". Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  4. ^ "INTERNATIONAL THOROUGHBRED BREEDERS INC, Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Oct 15, 1996". secdatabase.com. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  5. ^ Philadelphia Inquirer, March 18, 2000