Whirl Stakes
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| Location | Empire City Race Track, Yonkers, New York, United States |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1908 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred - Flat racing |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 5.5 furlongs |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Track | left-handed |
| Qualification | Two-year-olds |
| Purse | $4,000 added |
The Whirl Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Empire City Race Track in Yonkers, New York. First run in 1908, it was created as a contest for three-year-old horses at a distance of one mile on dirt. Following the track's closure from 1911 through 1913 due to the passage of the Hart-Agnew Law by the New York State Legislature, there was no racing in New York state in 1911, 1912, and 1913.[1] The Whirl Stakes returned in 1914 as a sprint race for two-year-old horses at a distance of five and a half furlongs. By 1925 the Whirl Stakes had become one of the Empire City Race Track's richest and most important races of its type run during its summer meet.[2]
Friar Rock, a colt ridden by Clarence Turner, won the 1915 running in track record time.[3]
In 1930 Vander Pool won what turned out to be the final edition of the Whirl Stakes. The victory marked the undefeated colt's ninth career win in a row and would keep his win streak going into 1931.[4] Returning to Empire City Race Track, on July 25, 1931 the still undefeated Vander Pool won the Greenfield Purse, giving him fifteen straight races without a loss which equaled a twenty-three-year-old American record set by Colin during 1907/08.[5]