St Leger Stakes is regarded as one of the world’s oldest classic races. It was founded by Anthony St Leger, who was a politician and an army officer in the 18th century. St Leger is a grade 1 race, and is strictly meant for horses aged three years and above. While racing, the horses cover a total distance of 2,921 meters. The flat race was first run way back in 1776, and is sponsored by William Hill. It is scheduled for every September and run on the left-handed track of Doncaster racecourse. It was widely known as a Sweepstake of 25 Guineas in the past.
The race was first recorded in 1776, and among the five Britain’s classic races it is run the last with it covering the longest distance as compared to the rest. It was first run at Cantley Common, and the winner was a racehorse that was owned by the event’s organizer. In 1777, the race became officially known as St Leger after a meeting held in the same year to discuss the next year’s race. The first horse to win was Champion, being ridden by Frank Buckle. In 1813, its distance was cut down to 1 mile and 6 furlongs. In 1989, the race was moved to Ayr racecourse, then to York in 2006. It was later brought back to Doncaster. It has developed a number of its clones over the past years, Irish St Lager and St Lager Italiano being examples.
Last year, Capri emerged the winner, followed by Crystal Ocean and Stradivarius in the second and third positions respectively. The leading jockey of all times is Bill Scott, with a total of 9 wins. The first prize money to be won amounted to 396,970 Euros. This has been increasing significantly over the years, and last year, the prize money for St Leger Stakes was 700,000 Euros.