Messenger Stakes
The
Messenger Stakes is an
American harness racing event for 3-year-old pacing horses. It was organized in
1956 at the Roosevelt Raceway in
New York City to join with the
Cane Pace and the
Little Brown Jug to create the
Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers. The race is named in honor of Messenger, (1780-1808), a horse foaled in
England and later brought to the
United States. As a sire, virtually all race horses in the U.S. can be traced back to Messenger.
One of the preeminent events for harness racing horses in North America, the race was held annually at Roosevelt Raceway until the it closed down. After that, the Messenger Stakes was staged at different racetracks until 1995 when it moved permanently to The Meadows, a racetrack in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area.
Previous winners: