GI California Crown Stakes

A generation ago, the Philip H. Iselin S. used to be the premier race of the summer at Monmouth Park. Even while cycling through several name changes, the then-handicap carried Grade I status between 1976 and 1996 and a purse that swelled to $500,000 for a few years. Its importance as an August fixture for top older routers merited regular broadcasts on national TV, and the race's roster of winners boasted such standouts as Spectacular Bid, Alysheba and Skip Away. In decline ever since, the Iselin had already levelled out...