 Inaugurated at the Sheepshead Bay Race Track at Gravesend, New York, it was held there until 1913.At that time, the race was the richest stakes for three-year-olds in the United States.It was run as the Realization Stakes until 1899, when it was renamed to honor James G. K. Lawrence, president of the Coney Island Jockey Club (which owned the racetrack).