The Mike Lee Stakes is the first leg of the "Big Apple Triple", a grouping of three races in New York state for New York breds.
The Mike Lee is held at Belmont Park in the spring and is open to three-year-olds of either gender running at 7 furlongs.
This race was run as the New York City OTB Big Apple Handicap prior to 1988, but in 1989 was named for Mike Lee, the former sports editor with the Long Island Press for over 40 years.
The race was run as the Mike Lee Handicap through 1995.
In 2008, Tin Cup Chalice won the first Big Apple Triple by taking the Albany Stakes, the New York Derby, and the Mike Lee Handicap.