Saranac Stakes

Saranac Stakes
Grade III race
LocationSaratoga Race Course
Saratoga Springs, New York, United States
Inaugurated1901
Race typeThoroughbredFlat racing
Race information
Distance1+116 miles
SurfaceTurf
TrackLeft-handed
QualificationThree-year-olds
Weight124 lbs. with allowances
Purse$175,000 (2023)

The Saranac Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The Grade III stakes is open to three-year-old horses and is raced on turf over a distance of 1+116 miles. The event, currently run in early September, raised its purse to $300,000 in 2014.[1] As of 2023 the race is run for a purse of $175,000.[1]

Inaugurated in 1901, the race is named for the village of Saranac in Clinton County, New York in the Adirondack Mountains. Due to a legislated ban on parimutuel betting, all New York State racetracks ceased operations in 1911 and 1912. Cancellation of the race occurred again from 1943 to 1947 as a result of World War II. When it returned in 1948, the race was shifted to the now defunct Jamaica Racetrack until 1956 when it was moved to Aqueduct Racetrack where it was held from 1957 to 1961, 1963–1967, 1972–1974, and in 1976.

Raced on dirt until 1979, over the years the Saranac Stakes has been run at various distances:

  • 1 mile: 1960–1965, 2020
  • 1+116 miles: 1948–1959, 2019, 2021–Present
  • 1+18 miles: 1901–1908, 1910, 1996, 2011–2018
  • 1+316 miles: 1997–2010
  1. ^ a b "Saranac Stakes Profile". www.equibase.com. Retrieved 4 September 2016.