Champion Stakes (United States)

The Champion Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in August at the Monmouth Park Association's racetrack in Long Branch, New Jersey. Inaugurated in 1879, the Champion Stakes was open to horses of any age and was raced on dirt over a distance of one and one half miles (12 furlongs).

In 1891, the races at Long Branch had to be shifted to racetracks in New York when government legislation attempted to inhibit parimutuel wagering. The races were split between the Jerome Park Racetrack in Fordham, Bronx and at the nearby Morris Park Racecourse at Westchester Village. The Monmouth Park Racing Association closed and the land sold after its operating license was revoked in 1893 and government legislation was enacted that banned parimutuel wagering.

In the final running of the Champion Stakes in 1892, Lamplighter set a new stakes and track record.

Records
Speed record:
 * 2:32.75 - Lamplighter (1892)

Most wins:
 * 2 - Firenze (1888, 1891)

Most wins by a jockey:
 * 4 - Jim McLaughlin (1880, 1881, 1884, 1887)

Most wins by a trainer:
 * 3 - James G. Rowe Sr. (1880, 1881, 1884)
 * 3 - Matthew Byrnes (1888, 1990, 1991)

Most wins by an owner:
 * 4 - Dwyer Brothers Stable (1880, 1881, 1884, 1887)