Brighton Derby
{{Infobox horseraces
| class = Discontinued horse
| horse race = Brighton Derby
| image =
| caption =
| location = Brighton Beach Race Course
Coney Island, New York, United States
| inaugurated = 1901
| race type = Thoroughbred – Flat racing
| website =
| distance = 1½ miles (12 furlongs)
| surface = Dirt
| track = left-handed
| qualification = Three-year-olds
| weight = Assigned
| purse = US$15,000
| bonuses =
}}
The Brighton Derby was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually by the Brighton Beach Racing Association at its Brighton Beach Race Course at Brighton Beach on Coney Island, New York. Open to three-year-olds, it was contested at a distance of one and one half miles (12 furlongs) on dirt.{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1900s/drf1907080301/drf1907080301_2_3 |title=Condensed History of the Brighton Derby |work=Daily Racing Form|via=University of Kentucky Archives|date=1907-08-03 |accessdate=2020-03-21}} Run during the mid to latter part of July, it was the last of the racing season's thirteen Derby races.{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1900s/drf1907080401/drf1907080401_2_2 |title=Results of the Thirteen Derby Races of 1907 in the United States and Canada |work=Daily Racing Form|via=University of Kentucky Archives|date=1907-08-04 |accessdate=2020-03-21}}
The Brighton Derby was first run at 1½ miles in 1901, then at 1¼ miles in 1902 and 1903 before reverting to the original distance.
During its seven years of existence, Brighton Derby winners Ort Wells, Sysonby and Accountant went on to earn American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse honors. Sysonby would also earn the American Horse of the Year title.[http://www.bloodhorse.com/eclipsewinners/pdf/History_Charts.pdf The Bloodhorse.com Champion's history charts] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904120526/http://www.bloodhorse.com/eclipsewinners/pdf/History_Charts.pdf |date=September 4, 2012}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1905/07/30/archives/sysonby-won-15000-derby-as-he-pleased-jr-keenes-champion-colt.html |title=Sysonby Won $15,000 Derby As He Pleased |work=New York Times|page=8|date=1905-07-30 |accessdate=2020-03-21}}
The end of a race and of a racetrack
The 1908 Brighton Derby was never run and as such the August 3, 1907 edition was its last.{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1900s/drf1907080401/drf1907080401_1_2 |title=Speedy Charles Edward: Dubois Colt Wins Rich Brighton Derby from Frank Gill |work=Daily Racing Form|via=University of Kentucky Archives|date=1907-08-04 |accessdate=2020-03-21}} The race's demise was a result of the 1908 passage of the Hart–Agnew anti-betting legislation by the New York Legislature under Republican Governor Charles Evans Hughes that led to a state-wide shutdown of racing in 1911 and 1912.{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1900s/drf1908011801/drf1908011801_1_7 |title=Penalties in the New York Bills |work=Daily Racing Form|via=University of Kentucky Archives|date=1908-01-18|accessdate=2018-10-26}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1911/07/14/archives/race-track-bill-defeated-in-senate-measure-modifying-directors.html|title=Race Track Bill Defeated In Senate; Measure Modifying Directors' Liability for Gambling Fails of Passage.|work=The New York Times|date=July 14, 1911|publisher=|access-date=September 2, 2017|via=NYTimes.com}} Although a February 21, 1913 ruling by the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division saw horse racing return in 1913, it was too late for the Brighton Beach horse racing facility and it never reopened.{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1910s/drf1913022201/drf1913022201_1_9 |title= Oral Betting Held Legal: Appellate Division of New York Supreme Court Renders Important Decision |work=Daily Racing Form|via=University of Kentucky Archives|date=1913-02-22 |accessdate=2019-06-29}}{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1900s/drf1908121501/drf1908121501_1_7|title=Destruction Wrought by Hughes |work=Daily Racing Form|via=University of Kentucky Archives|date=1908-12-15|accessdate=2018-11-30}}{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1910s/drf1914111701/drf1914111701_1_2 |title=Famous Old Track is Sold |work=Daily Racing Form|via=University of Kentucky Archives|date=1914-11-17|accessdate=2018-11-30}}
Records
Speed record: (at 1½ miles) : 2:30 4/5 – Charles Edward (1907) (new race and track record) {{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1900s/drf1907080401/drf1907080401_1_2 |title=Speedy Charles Edward: Dubois Colt Wins Rich Brighton Derby from Frank Gill |publisher=Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives |date=1907-08-04 |accessdate=2020-03-21}}
Most wins by a jockey:
- 2 – Frank O'Neill (1903, 1904)
Most wins by a trainer:
- No trainer won this race more than once.
Most wins by an owner:
- 2 – James B. A. Haggin (1901, 1903)
Winners
| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:90%" |
| style="width:30px" | Year ! style="width:110px" | Winner ! style="width:20px" | Age ! style="width:110px" | Jockey ! style="width:120px" | Trainer ! Owner ! style="width:25px" | Dist. ! style="width:25px" | Time ! style="width:25px" | Win$ |
|---|
| 1907
|align=center|3 |Patchogue Stable (William H. DuBois) |align=center|1{{Frac|1|2}} m |2:30.80 |$11,750 |
| 1906
|align=center|3 |align=center|1{{Frac|1|2}} m |2:37.20 |$11,750 |
| 1905
|align=center|3 |align=center|1{{Frac|1|2}} m |2:33.20 |$11,750 |
| 1904
|align=center|3 |John A. Drake |align=center|1{{Frac|1|2}} m |2:32.60 |$9,725 |
| 1903
|Charles Elwood |align=center|3 |align=center|1{{Frac|1|4}} m |2:05.00 |$7,550 |
| 1902
|Hyphen |align=center|3 |align=center|1{{Frac|1|4}} m |2:04.20 |$7,550 |
| 1901
|align=center|3 |align=center|1{{Frac|1|2}} m |2:34.20 |$8,300 |