Iroquois Finger Lakes region, and upstate New York along the St. Lawrence River area downstream to today's Montreal. French, Dutch and British colonists in both New France (Canada) and the what became the Thirteen Colonies recognized a need to gain favor with the Iroquois people, who occupied a significant portion of lands west of colonial settlements. Their first relations with them were for fur trading, which was favorable and became lucrative to both sides. The colonists also sought to establish positive relations to secure their settlement borders. For nearly 200 years the Iroquois were a powerful factor in North American colonial
Iroquois Handicap Iroquois Handicap The Iroquois Handicap run at Belmont Park on Long Island, New York in the fall of the year, is a 7 furlong race for Thoroughbred fillies and mares, aged three and up, that are New York-bred. It offers a purse of $125,000. Set at a mile and an eighth before 1981, at a mile from 1981 to 1984, a mile and 70 yards from 1985 to 1987, at six furlongs from 1989 to 1993, it is now at seven furlongs. In 1996, it ran at Aqueduct Racetrack. The Iroquois Handicap is named for the Iroquois Indian Nation who