A Grade III event with a current purse of US$300,000, it is set at a distance of 1 mile on the dirt.
The race is named for New York City, which has been nicknamed Gotham since an 1807 article by Washington Irving.
The only Derby winner who competed in the Gotham was American Triple Crown champion Secretariat, who tied the track record when winning the race in 1973.
[4][5] Easy Goer improved on this in 1989, setting a track record of 1:32.40 – one of the fastest times ever run in North America on the dirt.
[6] Since its inception, the Gotham has been competed at various distances: The race was run in two divisions in 1953, 1974, 1975, and 1983.