EXCELSIOR is the motto of New York State, a latin term meaning "upward, ever upward."
The EXCELSIOR was a significant event in the career of the great Grey Lag. Winner of the EXCELSIOR in l923, at the age of five, Grey Lag finished third in l928, when he was a l0 year old.
The EXCELSIOR Handicap was run at Jamaica from 1903 to 1910, inclusive, and from 1915 to 1959; at Belmont Park in 1913. Not run in 1909, 1911, 1912, 1914, 1933, and 1967. Run at a mile and a sixteenth prior to 1960; at one mile in 1960; and at a mile and a furlong from 1961 to 1978, inclusive. Run at a mile and a quarter from 1979 to 1993, inclusive.
THE EXCELSIOR BREEDERS’ CUP HANDICAP is part of the Breeders’ Cup National Stakes Program.