Zephyr Stakes

{{short description|American Thoroughbred horse race}}

{{Infobox horseraces

| class = Discontinued stakes

| horse race = Zephyr Stakes

| image =

| caption =

| location = Sheepshead Bay Race Track
Brooklyn, New York, United States

| inaugurated = 1886–1910

| race type = Thoroughbred – Flat racing

| website =

| distance = Furlongs:
1886–1900: {{frac|5|3|4}}
1901–1909: {{frac|5|1|2}}
1910: 5

| surface = Dirt

| track = left-handed

| qualification = Two-year-olds

| weight =

| purse =

| bonuses =

}}

The Zephyr Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race that was run from 1886 through 1910 at Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. A race for two-year-olds of either sex, it was a sprint race run on dirt. During its tenure, it was run at three different distances. From inception through 1900 it was run on the track's Futurity course at {{frac|5|3|4}} furlongs with a setup that did not accommodate a standard six-furlong race.{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1890s/drf1896121701/drf1896121701_1_2 |title=Coney Island's 1897 Stakes |work=Daily Racing Form |date= 1896-12-17|access-date=2017-10-02}}

(A furlong is {{cvt|1/8|mi|disp=or}}.)

The 1886 inaugural Zephyr Stakes was won by Tremont. Considered one of the great two-year-old horses in the history of American racing, Tremont's thirteen race wins set a record for the most by an undefeated two-year-old trained in the United States. Going into 2019, that record still stands. He earned 1886 American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt honors.{{cite web|url=https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/stakes-schedule/tremont/ |title=Tremont Stakes |publisher=NYRA |date= 2018-06-08 |access-date=2018-11-23}}

On June 11, 1908, the Republican controlled New York Legislature under Governor Charles Evans Hughes passed the Hart–Agnew anti-betting legislation with penalties allowing for fines and up to a year in prison.{{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|access-date=2018-10-26}} The owners of Sheepshead Bay Race Track, and other racing facilities in New York State, struggled to stay in business without betting.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1908/09/01/archives/keep-up-betting-ban-strict-enforcement-of-the-law-at-sheepshead-bay.html |title=Keep Up Betting Ban |work=New York Times |date=1908-09-01 |access-date=2018-11-06}} Racetrack operators had no choice but to drastically reduce the purse money being paid out which by 1909 saw the Mermaid Stakes offering a purse that was close to one-tenth of what it had been in earlier years.{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1910s/drf1910071601/drf1910071601_1_7 |title=Striking Falling off in Value of Ten Greatest Stakes |work=Daily Racing Form|via=University of Kentucky Archives|date= 1910-07-16 |access-date=2018-10-15}} Further restrictive legislation was passed by the New York Legislature in 1910 which deepened the financial crisis for track operators and led to a complete shut down of racing across the state during 1911 and 1912. When a Court ruling saw racing return in 1913 it was too late for the Sheepshead Bay horse racing facility and it never reopened.