Excelsior Stakes
The Excelsior Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the first week of April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. A Listed event for three-year-olds and up, it is contested over a distance of one-and-one-eighth miles 9 furlong.
| Listed race | |
| Location | Aqueduct Racetrack Queens, New York, United States |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1903 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred – Flat racing |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1+1⁄8 miles |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Track | left-handed |
| Qualification | Three-years-old & up |
| Weight | Assigned |
| Purse | US$150,000 (2018) |
"Excelsior" is Latin for "Upward, ever upward", and is the motto of the state of New York.
In 1928, when Hall of Famer Grey Lag was ten years old, he came in third. He'd won this race as a five-year-old in 1923.
The race was run at the old Jamaica Race Course from 1903 to 1910, and then again from 1915 to 1959. In 1913, it was run at Belmont Park. It wasn't run at all in 1909, 1911, 1912, 1914, 1933, 1967, and 2020.
Since inception, the race has been contested at various distances and as initially a handicap as the race was known as the Excelsior Handicap:
- 1+1⁄16 miles: 1903–1960
- 1 mile: 1960
- 1 mile, 1 furlong: 1961–1978
- 1+1⁄8 miles: 1994–2014, 2018-2019, 2021
- 1+1⁄4 miles: 1979–1993, 2015–2017
The event was downgraded from Grade III to Listed in 2022.