Belmont Futurity Stakes
The Futurity Stakes, commonly referred to as the Belmont Futurity, is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid September at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to two-year-old horses, it is raced on dirt over a distance of six furlongs.
The creation of James G. K. Lawrence, president of the Sheepshead Bay Race Track, the field made up of the two-year-old offspring of mares which had been nominated before their birth. This nomination remained in effect until 1957 when it was opened to all two-year-olds.
Inaugural running
The first edition of the Futurity took place on Labor Day in 1888. The New York Times reported that one-quarter of those in attendance were women. The richest race ever run in the United States to that time, the owners of winner Proctor Knott collected $41,675. Until 1956, this race had a larger purse than that of the Belmont Stakes.
Food consumption
The New York Times reported that attendance for the day of the inaugural running was at least the equal of the largest crowd to ever attend a race at the Sheepshead Bay facility and that the caterer sold the following food:
