History
John C. Bauer, C. W. Leonard, Joseph I. Markey, and Harry O. Reno organized the Hambletonian Society in 1924 and announced that they would stage the Hambletonian Stake, for 3-year-old trotters, during the 1926 New York State Fair at Syracuse.
The society and the race were named for the greatest sire in harness racing history. Between 1848 and his death in 1876, Hambleton sired 1,331 foals. Almost all of today's Standardbred horses trace their ancestry to Hambletonian.
The Hambletonian Stake was run at Syracuse in 1926 and 1928, at Lexington, KY, in 1927 and 1929. It moved to Goshen, NY, in 1930 and remained there through 1956, except for 1943, when it was run at New York City's Empire City Track because of wartime travel restrictions.
The race was staged at the Du Quoin, IL, State Fair from 1957 through 1980. Since 1981, it has been held at Meadowlands Race Track in East Rutherford, NJ.