Open to three-year-olds, it was contested at a distance of one and one half miles (12 furlongs) on dirt.
During its seven years of existence, Brighton Derby winners Ort Wells, Sysonby and Accountant went on to earn American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse honors.
Sysonby would also earn the American Horse of the Year title.
[5] The race's demise was a result of the 1908 passage of the Hart–Agnew anti-betting legislation by the New York Legislature under Republican Governor Charles Evans Hughes that led to a state-wide shutdown of racing in 1911 and 1912.
[6][7] Although a February 21, 1913 ruling by the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division saw horse racing return in 1913, it was too late for the Brighton Beach horse racing facility and it never reopened.