Gottstein Futurity
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Auburn, Washington, USA
| Class | Non-Listed Black Type[1] |
|---|---|
| Location | Emerald Downs Auburn, Washington, USA |
| Inaugurated | 1940 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred - Flat racing |
| Website | emeralddowns |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1+1⁄16 miles (8.5 furlongs) |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Track | left-handed |
| Qualification | Two-year-olds |
| Purse | US$100,000 (2019) |
The Gottstein Futurity is a race for Thoroughbred horses run annually at Emerald Downs racetrack in Auburn, Washington.[2] The mile and one-sixteenth race is open to two-year-old horses of either sex and is run as part of the year's closing racecard.
First run in 1940 at Longacres Racetrack in Renton as the Washington State Futurity, in 1993 the race was moved to Yakima Meadows in Yakima and to its present location in 1996. There was no race held in 1943 due to various federal government wartime restrictions.
The Futurity was renamed in 1971 to honor Joseph Gottstein (1891–1971), a racehorse owner as well as the builder and proprietor of Longacres Racetrack about whom the widely respected turf writer and founding president of the National Turf Writers Association Joe Hirsch called "one of the great figures in racetrack management".[3]
Chronology of race names:
- Washington Futurity: 1940–1970
- Joe Gottstein Washington Futurity: 1971
- Joe Gottstein Futurity: 1972–1995
- Gottstein Futurity: 1996–present
Race distances:
- 1 1/16 miles : 1987–2011, 2013–present
- 1 mile : 2012
- 6½ furlongs : 1963–1986
- 6 furlongs : 1950–1962
- 5½ furlongs : 1940–1949
The Futurity was run in two divisions in 1958, 1960 and 1963.