Queens County Handicap
The Queens County Handicap is an American Ungraded Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the second week of December at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. Open to horses age three years and older, it is contested on dirt at a distance of one and three-sixteenths miles (9.5 furlongs).
| Ungraded race | |
| Location | Aqueduct Racetrack Queens, New York, United States |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1902 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred – Flat racing |
| Website | www |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1+3⁄8 miles (9 furlongs) |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Track | left-handed |
| Qualification | Three-years-old & up |
| Weight | Assigned |
| Purse | US$125,000 (2016) |
Inaugurated in 1902, the Queens County Handicap is one of America's oldest races still running. It was hosted by Belmont Park in 1946 and at the old Jamaica Racetrack in Jamaica, Queens, New York from 1956 to 1958. Since inception it has been contested at various distances:
- 1 mile, 70 yards : 1902–1903
- 1 mile : 1904–1939, 1959–1963
- 1+1⁄16 miles : 1940–1958, 1993
- 1+1⁄8 miles: 1964–1971, 2012 – present
- 1+3⁄16 miles : 1972–1992, 1994–2011
The Queens County is, like many races at Aqueduct, named for a New York City borough. Queens is the borough that includes the Aqueduct race track. It is also the largest of New York City's five boroughs.
There was no race run in 1909, and from 1911 through 1913. The race, once a graded stakes, has lost that status.