As with a number of race meetings in the UK, the St Leger Festival is the highlight of the social calendar in Doncaster and a source of immense pride for Yorkshire. The four day festival is run every September starting on a Wednesday and culminating on Saturday with the big one itself – the St Leger Stakes. The ‘Leger’ is the last of five classics in the British racing calendar and the oldest classic of them all having been run since 1776. Famous winners of the Leger include household names Nijinsky, Ribero, Dunfermline, Nedawi and of course, in 1985, Oh So Sharp who was the only filly to win the fillies’ Triple Crown.
Other hugely important races on the card include the Park Hill Stakes, a Group Two race for fillies and mares and the equally important Doncaster Cup over the long trip of two-and-a-quarter miles. The Portland Handicap is another big betting race attracting interest from all around the country. Tremendous hospitality and great entertainment are offered by Doncaster Racecourse to make the experience of the St Leger a memorable one.
Racing highlights on day one include the Listed Scarborough Stakes, run over a flying five furlongs, and the Leger Legends race. Run over the trip of one mile, the Leger Legends Classified Stakes was introduced in 2010 and has become immensely popular with race goers, backers and the racing media. This is a truly unique race in as much as it is for ex-professional jockeys and run for charity.
Day Two (Thursday) is Ladies’ Day and quite a spectacle if the Yorkshire sun is shining! Appropriately enough, the two racing highlights of this day are for the females, namely the Park Hill Stakes and the Sceptre Stakes. The Sceptre is a Group Three run over seven furlongs while the Park Hill is an important Group Two race run over the St Leger distance of a mile and three quarters.
Friday is an important day on the racing calendar with three Group Two’s and a Listed race on the card. The Listed race is the Flying Scotsman Stakes (seven furlongs) while the Group Two’s start with the fast five furlong Flying Childers Stakes for the two-year-olds. The Doncaster Cup and the May Hill Stakes make up that line-up.
Saturday is of course the big day featuring the main event itself, the St Leger Stakes. Although the Group Two Champagne Stakes and Park Stakes are quality races in their own right, it is all about the St Leger here. Naturally a rich event with well over £500,000 in the purse, the St Leger can provide an opportunity for a horse to win the much coveted ‘Triple Crown’ of British horse racing should a horse have already taken the 2,000 Guineas and the Derby. Big betting event the Portland Handicap is run on the final day also.
Tickets are at a premium for the St Leger Festival but with a capacity of 50,000 on ‘Town Moor’ there is always a very special atmosphere.
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