The event was inaugurated on 22 December 1976 at Aqueduct Racetrack at a distance of six furlongs and was won by Chief Tamanaco who was ridden by US Hall of Fame jockey Angel Cordero Jr. and trained by the young trainer James Iselin, son of Philip H. Iselin who at the time was Chairman of Monmouth Park Racetrack in a time of 1:094⁄5.
In 2009 the event was moved to the Aqueduct Fall Meeting and has been held in late October or early November[2] and at times returning to be scheduled at Belmont Park.
[3] In the 1998 running, Kelly Kip, ridden by Jean-Luc Samyn, set an Aqueduct rack record of 1:07.61 for the six furlongs distance.
[2] In 2019 Maximum Security set a new stakes record for the seven furlong distance en route to being crowned the US Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse.
[2] Also the event in 2022 was moved to Aqueduct Racetrack due to infield tunnel and redevelopment work at Belmont Park and run at a shorter distance of six furlongs.