America lagged far behind Europe in two-year-old racing; the invention of the six-furlong Futurity at Sheepshead Bay, at $40,900, the richest race ever run until then in America. It was a deliberate attempt by the Coney Island Jockey Club in 1888 to establish two-year-old racing as a major part of the programme. (Louis Maurer's picture is dated 1889, which has confused some historians). The inaugural race had a field of 14; it was won by Proctor Knott, a gelding by Luke Blackburn out of Tallapoosa by Great Tom, ridden by S. Barnes. Haggin's Salvator was second, beaten half a length after a titanic struggle; Galen was third. The Futurity went to Saratoga in 1910 and 1914, to Belmont 1915-1958, and then to Aqueduct. The History of Horse Racing by Roger Longrigg, page 235. Painting by Louis Maurer (1832-1932).