Knickerbocker Stakes

The Knickerbocker Stakes is a Listed American race on turf for Thoroughbred horses run each year at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The Knickerbocker is open to three-year-olds and up, and set at a distance of 1+1⁄8 miles (nine furlongs). Run in mid October, it currently offers a purse of $200,000.

Graded status

• Grade 2: 1998–2004, 2017–present
• Grade 3: 1973–1997, 2005–2016

Historical notes

The Knickerbocker is named for a fictional character, Diedrich Knickerbocker, from Washington Irving's Knickerbocker History of New York– a spoof on the imagined colony of New Netherland.

The race was originally run as the Knickerbocker Handicap at Aqueduct Racetrack in late October or early November, although the 1962, 1995 and 2001 renewals were held at Belmont. The race was permanently moved to Belmont Park in 2008 and was changed from a handicap to allowance weight conditions in 2009.

The race has been run at a variety of distances over the years:

• 1+5⁄8 miles – 1960, 1961, 1971 to 1974
• 1+3⁄8 miles – 1962, 1975, 1976, 1978 to 1986
• 1+3⁄16 miles – 1963 to 1969
• 1+5⁄16 miles – 1970
• 1+1⁄4 miles – 1977, 1995 and 2001
• 1+1⁄8 miles – 1987 to 1994, 1996 to 2000, 2002 to present

The Knickerbocker was run in two divisions in 1963, 1967, 1969, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, and 1985.

In 1977, 1992, 1997 and 2023 the race was switched from turf to dirt due to rain. The 2023 event only fielded a two horse field.

In 2025 the event was downgraded by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to Listed status.

Records

Speed record: (at current distance of 1 1/8 miles on turf)

• Za Approval, 1:46.51 ( 2013)

Most wins:

• 2 – Shady Character (1974, 1975)
• 2 – Charge d'Affaires (1999, 2000)
• 2 – Boisterous (2011, 2012)
• 2 – Blacktype (2017, 2018)

Most wins by a jockey:

• 7 – Jean Cruguet (1977 (2), 1978, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1992)

Most wins by a trainer:

• 6 – Christophe Clement (1993, 1999, 2000, 2009, 2013, 2017)

Most wins by an owner:

• 5 – Ogden Mills Phipps / Phipps Stable (1974, 1975, 1978, 2011, 2012)

Winners