The WITHERS is named for David Dunham Withers, a New Yorker who made his fortune in the South, returning to New York at the outset of the Civil War in l86l. He became a member of the American Jockey Club and was one of the founding fathers of Jerome Park. The event was inaugurated in l874, and Withers won it with his own horse, King Eric, in l890.
The WITHERS was run at Jerome Park from l874 to l889; at Morris Park from l890 to l904; at Jamaica in l956; and at Belmont Park from 1984 to 1996. Not run in l9ll and l9l2. Run at a mile and a sixteenth in 1956. In 1969, Gleaming Light finished first, but was disqualified and placed fifth.