Classic races

The British Classics are five long-standing Group 1 horse races run during the traditional flat racing season. They are restricted to three-year-old horses and traditionally represent the pinnacle of achievement for racehorses against their own age group. As such, victory in any classic marks a horse as amongst the very best of a generation. Victory in two or even three of the series (a rare feat known as the English Triple Crown) marks a horse as truly exceptional.

The five British Classics are:

It is common to think of them as taking place in three legs.

The first leg is made up of the Newmarket Classics – 1,000 Guineas and 2,000 Guineas. Given that the 1,000 Guineas is restricted to fillies, this is regarded as the fillies' classic and the 2,000, which is open to both sexes, as the colts' classic, although it is theoretically possible for a filly to compete in both.

The second leg is made up of the Epsom Derby and/or Oaks, both ridden over 1 1/2 miles at Epsom in early June. The Oaks is regarded as the fillies' classic, the Derby as the colts', although, as with the Guineas, a filly could theoretically contest both.

The final leg is the St. Leger, held over 1 mile 6 1/2 furlongs at Doncaster and is open to both sexes.

The variety of distances and racecourses faced in the Classics make them particularly challenging as a series to even the best horses. It is rare for a horse to possess both the speed and stamina to compete across all these distances, making the Triple Crown a particularly notable achievement. In fact, in the modern era, it is rare for any attempt on the Triple Crown to be made.

Although the oldest race in the series, the St Leger, was first run 1776, the races were not designated 'classics' until 1815, shortly after the first running of the 1,000 Guineas.

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