Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes
| Grade I race | |
| Location |
Belmont Park Elmont, New York, United States |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1919 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred - Flat racing |
| Website | www |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1 1⁄4 miles (10 furlongs) |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Track | Left-handed |
| Qualification | Three-years-old and up |
| Weight | Weight-For-Age |
| Purse | $1,000,000 (since 2012) |
The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It is typically the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the spring meeting and the Travers Stakes is of the summer meeting at Saratoga. The past winners of the Gold Cup are a veritable who's who of award-winning Hall of Fame horses, including Easy Goer, Man o' War, Cigar, Skip Away, Curlin, Slew o' Gold, John Henry, Affirmed, Forego, Shuvee, Damascus, Buckpasser, Kelso, Sword Dancer, Nashua, Citation, Whirlaway and War Admiral. Despite the current $1,000,000 purse and Grade 1 status, the stature of the race has suffered somewhat in recent years thanks to the emergence of the Breeders' Cup Classic held not long afterward, as well as a change in distance to 1 1⁄4 miles in 1990, reducing its distinctiveness.
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