The first contest for the America's Cup was sponsored by the Royal Yacht Squadron as part of an international exhibition in London in 1851. Members of the New York Yacht Club competed in the race with the 170-ton schooner America, which in August 1851 sailed against 14 yachts from the Royal Yacht Squadron in a race around the Isle of Wight. America won the prize, a silver cup. In 1857 the cup was presented to the New York Yacht Club, to be held as a world trophy; thereafter it became known as the America's Cup.