Whirl Stakes

{{Infobox horseraces

| class =

| horse race = Whirl Stakes

| website =

| image =

| caption =

| location = Empire City Race Track, Yonkers, New York,
United States

| inaugurated = 1908

| race type = Thoroughbred - Flat racing

| distance = 5.5 furlongs

| surface = Dirt

| track = left-handed

| qualification = Two-year-olds

| weight =

| purse = $4,000 added

| bonuses =

}}

The Whirl Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Empire City Race Track in Yonkers, New York. First run in 1908, it was created as a contest for three-year-old horses at a distance of one mile on dirt. Following the track's closure from 1911 through 1913 due to the passage of the Hart-Agnew Law by the New York State Legislature, there was no racing in New York state in 1911, 1912, and 1913.{{cite web |title=Penalties in the New York Bills |url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1900s/drf1908011801/drf1908011801_1_7 |website=Daily Racing Form |access-date=5 October 2024}} The Whirl Stakes returned in 1914 as a sprint race for two-year-old horses at a distance of five and a half furlongs. By 1925 the Whirl Stakes had become one of the Empire City Race Track's richest and most important races of its type run during its summer meet.{{cite web|title=Golden Pearl Victor in 1908 In the First Whirl Stakes |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1925/07/12/archives/golden-pearl-victor-in-1908-in-the-first-whirl-stakes.html |website=New York Times|access-date=29 January 2025}}

Historical race notes

Friar Rock, a colt ridden by Clarence Turner, won the 1915 running in track record time.{{cite web|title=Race Prophets Get Jolt At Belmont |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1915/07/18/archives/rage-prophets-get-jolt-at-belmont-favorites-passed-by-selling.html |website=The New York Times, Section Sports, Page 4 |access-date=11 April 2025}}

In 1930 Vander Pool won what turned out to be the final edition of the Whirl Stakes. The victory marked the undefeated colt's ninth career win in a row and would keep his win streak going into 1931.{{cite web|title=Unbeaten King of 2-Year-Olds Vander Pool Takes Ninth Race in Row |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/syracuse-herald-jul-13-1930-p-10/ |website=Syracuse Herald |access-date=19 August 2023}} Returning to Empire City Race Track, on July 25, 1931 the still undefeated Vander Pool won the Greenfield Purse, giving him fifteen straight races without a loss which equaled a twenty-three-year-old American record set by Colin during 1907/08.{{cite web|title=Universe Annexes East View Stakes |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1931/07/26/archives/universe-annexes-east-view-stakes-field-at-first-turn-in-second.html |website=New York Times, Section Sports, Page 1 |access-date=3 February 2025}}

Records

Speed record:

1:03.80 @ 5½ furlongs : Friar Rock (1915)

Most wins by a jockey:

2 - Joe McCahey (1909, 1910)
2 - Clarence Turner (1915, 1925)
2 - Laverne Fator (1919, 1929)

Most wins by a trainer:

3 - Sam Hildreth (1915, 1921, 1929)

Most wins by an owner:

2 - James Butler (1914, 1926)
2 - Rancocas Stable (1921, 1929)
2 - Willis Sharpe Kilmer (1924, 1927)

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" \| {{abbr\|Dist.\|Distance}} (Miles) ! style="width:25px" \| Time ! style="width:35px" \| Win $
align=center\|1930 \|Vander Pool \|align=center\|2 \|Danny McAuliffe \|Dave Robb McDaniel \|Tennessee Stable (Agnes Allen) \|align=center\|5.5 F \|1:07.60 \|$6,650
align=center\|1929 \|Mokatam \|align=center\|2 \|Laverne Fator \|Sam Hildreth \|Rancocas Stable \|align=center\|5.5 F \|1:08.00 \|$8,190
align=center\|1928 \|Dr. Freeland \|align=center\|2 \|John Maiben \|Thomas J. Healey \|Walter J. Salmon Sr. \|align=center\|5.5 F \|1:07.20 \|$8,610
align=center\|1927 \|Sun Edwin \|align=center\|2 \|Eddie Ambrose \|Henry McDaniel \|Willis Sharpe Kilmer \|align=center\|5.5 F \|1:07.00 \|$5,600
align=center\|1926 \|Charade \|align=center\|2 \|Edgar Barnes \|John Johnson \|James Butler \|align=center\|5.5 F \|1:06.00 \|$5,600
align=center\|1925 \|Canter \|align=center\|2 \|Clarence Turner \|Harry Rites \|J. Edwin Griffith \|align=center\|5.5 F \|1:06.40 \|$5,600
align=center\|1924 \|Sunny Man \|align=center\|2 \|Ray Carter \|Charles J. Casey \|Willis Sharpe Kilmer \|align=center\|5.5 F \|1:07.00 \|$5,500
align=center\|1923 \|Lord Baltimore \|align=center\|2 \|George Babin \|William M. Garth \|Joshua S. Cosden \|align=center\|5.5 F \|1:07.20 \|$5,550
align=center\|1922 \|Bud Lerner \|align=center\|2 \|Earl Sande \|Frank M. Taylor \|John E. Madden \|align=center\|5.5 F \|1:07.60 \|$5,050
align=center\|1921 \|Little Chief \|align=center\|2 \|Laverne Fator \|Sam Hildreth \|Rancocas Stable \|align=center\|5.5 F \|1:07.40 \|$5,450
align=center\|1920 \|Pluribus \|align=center\|2 \|Ted Rice \|Thomas J. Shannon \|Thomas W. O'Brien \|align=center\|5.5 F \|1:07.80 \|$4,675
align=center\|1919 \|Carmandale \|align=center\|2 \|Laverne Fator \|Richard F. Carman Sr. \|Richard F. Carman Sr. \|align=center\|5.5 F \|1:10.00 \|$3,900
align=center\|1918 \|Sweep On \|align=center\|2 \|Charles Fairbrother \|William H. Karrick \|William R. Coe \|align=center\|5.5 F \|1:06.00 \|$5,050
align=center\|1917 \|Papp \|align=center\|2 \|Roscoe Troxler \|Max Hirsch \|George W. Loft \|align=center\|5.5 F \|1:07.60 \|$4,150
align=center\|1916 \|Harry Kelly \|align=center\|2 \|Guy Garner \|George Land \|John W. Schorr \|align=center\|5.5 F \|1:07.20 \|$3,900
align=center\|1915 \|Friar Rock \|align=center\|2 \|Clarence Turner \|Sam Hildreth \|August Belmont Jr. \|align=center\|5.5 F \|1:03.80 \|$1,925
align=center\|1914 \|Pebbles \|align=center\|2 \|John McCabe \|Richard C. Benson \|James Butler \|align=center\|5.5 F \|1:08.00 \|$1,925
style="background:#eee;" \|align=center\|1913 \| rowspan="2" colspan="8" style="text-align:center;"\| No races held due to the Hart–Agnew Law
style="background:#eee;" \|align=center\|1911/12
align=center\|1910 \|Everett \|align=center\|3 \|Joe McCahey \|George Cornnell \|Quincy Stable (James Francis Johnson) \|align=center\|8 F \|1:40.00 \|$1,150
align=center\|1909 \|Arondack \|align=center\|3 \|Joe McCahey \|James J. McLaughlin \|Mrs. James J. McLaughlin \|align=center\|8 F \|1:40.80 \|$870
align=center\|1908 \|Golden Pearl \|align=center\|3 \|James Butler Jr. \|John Schlosser \|A. Jack Joyner \|align=center\|8 F \|1:42.40 \|$3,045

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" | {{abbr|Dist.|Distance}}
(Miles)

! style="width:25px" | Time

! style="width:35px" | Win $

align=center|1930

|Vander Pool

|align=center|2

|Danny McAuliffe

|Dave Robb McDaniel

|Tennessee Stable (Agnes Allen)

|align=center|5.5 F

|1:07.60

|$6,650

align=center|1929

|Mokatam

|align=center|2

|Laverne Fator

|Sam Hildreth

|Rancocas Stable

|align=center|5.5 F

|1:08.00

|$8,190

align=center|1928

|Dr. Freeland

|align=center|2

|John Maiben

|Thomas J. Healey

|Walter J. Salmon Sr.

|align=center|5.5 F

|1:07.20

|$8,610

align=center|1927

|Sun Edwin

|align=center|2

|Eddie Ambrose

|Henry McDaniel

|Willis Sharpe Kilmer

|align=center|5.5 F

|1:07.00

|$5,600

align=center|1926

|Charade

|align=center|2

|Edgar Barnes

|John Johnson

|James Butler

|align=center|5.5 F

|1:06.00

|$5,600

align=center|1925

|Canter

|align=center|2

|Clarence Turner

|Harry Rites

|J. Edwin Griffith

|align=center|5.5 F

|1:06.40

|$5,600

align=center|1924

|Sunny Man

|align=center|2

|Ray Carter

|Charles J. Casey

|Willis Sharpe Kilmer

|align=center|5.5 F

|1:07.00

|$5,500

align=center|1923

|Lord Baltimore

|align=center|2

|George Babin

|William M. Garth

|Joshua S. Cosden

|align=center|5.5 F

|1:07.20

|$5,550

align=center|1922

|Bud Lerner

|align=center|2

|Earl Sande

|Frank M. Taylor

|John E. Madden

|align=center|5.5 F

|1:07.60

|$5,050

align=center|1921

|Little Chief

|align=center|2

|Laverne Fator

|Sam Hildreth

|Rancocas Stable

|align=center|5.5 F

|1:07.40

|$5,450

align=center|1920

|Pluribus

|align=center|2

|Ted Rice

|Thomas J. Shannon

|Thomas W. O'Brien

|align=center|5.5 F

|1:07.80

|$4,675

align=center|1919

|Carmandale

|align=center|2

|Laverne Fator

|Richard F. Carman Sr.

|align=center|5.5 F

|1:10.00

|$3,900

align=center|1918

|Sweep On

|align=center|2

|Charles Fairbrother

|William H. Karrick

|William R. Coe

|align=center|5.5 F

|1:06.00

|$5,050

align=center|1917

|Papp

|align=center|2

|Roscoe Troxler

|Max Hirsch

|George W. Loft

|align=center|5.5 F

|1:07.60

|$4,150

align=center|1916

|Harry Kelly

|align=center|2

|Guy Garner

|George Land

|John W. Schorr

|align=center|5.5 F

|1:07.20

|$3,900

align=center|1915

|Friar Rock

|align=center|2

|Clarence Turner

|Sam Hildreth

|August Belmont Jr.

|align=center|5.5 F

|1:03.80

|$1,925

align=center|1914

|Pebbles

|align=center|2

|John McCabe

|Richard C. Benson

|James Butler

|align=center|5.5 F

|1:08.00

|$1,925

style="background:#eee;"

|align=center|1913

| rowspan="2" colspan="8" style="text-align:center;"| No races held due to the Hart–Agnew Law

style="background:#eee;"

|align=center|1911/12

align=center|1910

|Everett

|align=center|3

|Joe McCahey

|George Cornnell

|Quincy Stable (James Francis Johnson)

|align=center|8 F

|1:40.00

|$1,150

align=center|1909

|Arondack

|align=center|3

|Joe McCahey

|James J. McLaughlin

|Mrs. James J. McLaughlin

|align=center|8 F

|1:40.80

|$870

align=center|1908

|Golden Pearl

|align=center|3

|James Butler Jr.

|John Schlosser

|A. Jack Joyner

|align=center|8 F

|1:42.40

|$3,045

References

Category:Empire City Race Track

Category:Discontinued horse races

Category:Horse races in the United States

Category:Horse races in New York (state)

Category:Flat horse races for two-year-olds

Category:Flat horse races for three-year-olds

Category:Open sprint category horse races

Category:Open mile category horse races

Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1908

Category:Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1930

Category:1908 in American sports