Flash Stakes

{{Short description|Former horse race in New York state}}

{{Infobox horseraces

| class = Discontinued Stakes

| horse race = Flash Stakes

| image =

| caption =

| location = Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Springs, New York, United States

| inaugurated = 1869

| race type = Thoroughbred - Flat racing

| website =

| distance = 5 furlongs

| surface = Dirt

| track =

| qualification = Two-year-olds

| weight = Weight-For-Age

| purse = Varied over the years

| bonuses =

}}{{More sources needed|date=November 2024}}

The Flash Stakes was a race for two-year-old Thoroughbred horses and one of the longest running horse racing events in America. Run before races were graded, the Flash was won by a host of starry names.{{Cite news |last=Nicholls |first=Joe |date=August 4, 1964 |title=New Act Takes Flash Stakes at Spa |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/08/04/new-act-takes-flash-stakes-at-spa.html |work=The New York Times}} Begun before the United States Hotel Stakes (also now removed from racing's roster), it was the oldest race for juveniles of either gender in the United States.{{Cite web |title=Condensed History Of The Flash Stakes., Daily Racing Form, 1908-07-30 |url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1900s/drf1908073001/drf1908073001_1_9 |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=drf.uky.edu |language=en}}

Once a historic fixture in Saratoga Springs, New York at the Saratoga Race Course,{{Cite news |last=Ryall |first=G. F. T. |date=1965-08-06 |title=Kelso Takes the Waters |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1965/08/14/kelso-takes-the-waters |access-date=2024-11-06 |work=The New Yorker |language=en-US |issn=0028-792X}} it was eliminated in 2005 by the New York Racing Association (NYRA), which feared bankruptcy.

Moved from its home in Saratoga after a long absence, the Grade III Flash had raced on at Belmont Park as a five furlong sprint on the main track for a $100,000 added purse until the NYRA's 2005 decision.