The Distaff Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares that are four years old or older at a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt run annually in early April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York.
The event was inaugurated on 28 June 1954 as the Distaff Handicap at the old Aqueduct racetrack, and was won by Robert S. Howard's British mare Mab's Choice, who was trained by the future US Hall of Fame trainer Charles E. Whittingham in a time of 1:242⁄5.
[1] Mab's Choice was a 20-1 longshot in the field who had not won a race in two years came through with a late drive to win by 1⁄2 length.
On Wednesday, 20 April 1960 the event was scheduled back at the new Aqueduct racetrack and 29,195 were on hand to see the odds-on favorite Mommy Dear win by 2 lengths.
[7] The event has been run at a shorter distance of 6 furlongs in several times and on the inter dirt track in 1994 and from 2006 to 2009.