Ten Things You Should Know: Adirondack Stakes

By Kevin Martin, Hello Race Fans Contributing Editor

1) The Adirondack is held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.

2) It was run for the first time in 1901.

3) Prior to 1930, the 2-year-old race was open to both sexes. Since then it has been restricted to 2-year-old fillies.

4) The race is currently run at 6-1/2 furlongs. It had been at 6-furlongs for most of its history — it’s been at 6 1/2-furlongs since 1994 with the exception of 2005 (6-furlongs).

5) The race is named for the mountain range located in northeastern New York that runs through Saratoga County.

6) The race is one of many important stakes races for 2-year-olds run every year at Saratoga. Other races for 2-year-old fillies at the Spa include the Schuylerville and the Spinaway.

7) In 1922, the aptly named Cartoonist won the Adirondack for owner Bud Fisher, the creator of the first daily comic strip Mutt and Jeff.

8) Busher, the 1945 Horse of the Year, won the 1944 Adirondack. The race that year was held at Belmont Park.

9) Future champion and Triple Tiara winner, Sky Beauty, won the 1992 Adirondack.

10) Trainer D. Wayne Lukas won four straight editions of the race from 1985 to 1988. He also won the Adirondack in 1997 and 2005.