This guide features an overview of the 1,000 Guineas Stakes horse race which is run as part of the Stan James Guineas Festival annually in May. Additionally, it offers information on the race’s history, its venue, interesting facts and offers a list of additional resources around the web.
An Overview of the 1,000 Guineas
The 1,000 Guineas, sponsored by bookmaker Stan James, is a Group 1 flat horse race for three-year-old fillies run over a distance of one mile at Newmarket racecourse in late April or early May.
First run in 1814, five years after the introduction of 2,000 Guineas, for which both colts and fillies are eligible, the race is held on the Rowley Mile course and is the first fillies’ Classic of the season. It is also the first leg of the fillies’ Triple Crown, which also comprises the Oaks, run at Epsom in June, and St Leger (also open to colts), run in September.
The 2010 race will be held on Sunday, May 2.
1,000 Guineas History
The original prize for the race was 1,000 guineas, hence the name, and the first running in 1814 was won by the 11-5 favourite Charlotte. Among the notable winners is Hannah (1871), an outstanding filly who was the first to complete the fillies’ Triple Crown.
Seven more fillies have achieved the feat – Apology (1874), La Fleche (1892), Sceptre (1902), Pretty Polly (1904), Sun Chariot (1942), Meld (1955), and Oh So Sharp (1985). Sceptre won four British Classics in all, also landing the 2,000 Guineas.
As well as Oh So Sharp, other outstanding winners in recent times include Pebbles (1984), who as a four-year-old became the first horse from Britain to win a Breeders’ Cup race in the USA, champion miler Miesque (1987) and subsequent Oaks and Irish Derby winner Salsabil (1990).
You can find both past and upcoming horse racing results for the 1,000 Guineas and other UK races at the Racing Post.
Newmarket Racecourse
Newmarket, Suffolk, is regarded as the home of British horse racing and has two racecourses, known as the Rowley Mile and the July Course.
The first recorded race at Newmarket took place on March 18, 1622. In 1660 King Charles II began twice-yearly visits to Newmarket and his patronage ensured that horse racing in the town was formalised. In 1665 the Town Plate became the first horse race to be run underwritten rules.
The Jockey Club, which instituted the rules of horse racing, moved to Newmarket in 1750, and in the 1760s Newmarket started to host fixed annual race meetings. Newmarket Racecourse stages the 1,000 Guineas and the 2,000 Guineas – two of the five British Classic horse races for three-year-old horses. Newmarket was the first British racecourse to use the photo-finish (1949) and starting stalls (1965).
1,000 Guineas Facts
- There was only one runner and therefore a walkover for Tontine in 1825.
- The fastest winning time (1min 34.22sec) was recorded by Ghanaati in 2009.
- The longest-priced winner of the race was Ferry (1918) at 50-1.
- The shortest-priced winner of the race was Crucifix (1840) at 1-10.
- Tagalie (1912) was the only 1,000 Guineas winner to go on to land the Derby.
- Queen Elizabeth II owned 1974 winner Highclere. Her father, King George VI, won with Sun Chariot (1942) and Hypernicum (1946).
Additional Resources
- 1,000 Guineas Stakes on Wikipedia – the race’s listing on the free encyclopedia
- Guineas Festival – information from the official Newmarket Racecourse website
- 1000 Guineas Stakes Pedigree – pedigree information on the winners of the race.
- Horse Racing Tips – daily free tips by the Racing Post, with some luck you’ll find one for the 1,000 Guineas
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