LKS MacKinnon Stakes
| Group 1 race | |
1932 & 1934 winner – Peter Pan
|
|
| Location | Flemington Racecourse |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1869 (as Melbourne Stakes) |
| Race type | Thoroughbred |
| Sponsor | Longines (2015) |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 2,000 metres |
| Surface | Turf |
| Qualification | Three year olds and older that are not maidens |
| Weight | Weight for Age |
| Purse | $2,000,000 (2015) |
The Emirates Stakes, registered as the LKS Mackinnon Stakes, is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race run under Weight for Age conditions over a distance of 2000 metres at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia on the last day of the VRC Spring Carnival, the Saturday after the Melbourne Cup. Total prize money is A$2,000,000 and $2,500 trophy.
The race was originally held on VRC Victoria Derby Day, on the first day of the VRC Spring Carnival. The Club moved the race in 2016 to the last day of the carnival and renamed the race replacing the race that was formally called the Emirates Stakes.
Prior to 2016, many horses who have a ranking high enough to avoid the ballot for the Melbourne Cup use the race as a lead in to the 3,200 metres race on the first Tuesday in November (otherwise they race in the longer Lexus Stakes). The VRC believed that the placing of the race on the last day of the VRC Carnival would attract quality horses that raced in the W.S. Cox Plate to run at the distance rather than prepare for the Melbourne Cup.
The original race is named after a former chairman of the VRC L.K.S. MacKinnon (1861–1935).
In 1937 the VRC moved the Melbourne Stakes to earlier in the spring where was run in September over a shorter distance of 1 mile. The race was the predecessor to the Turnbull Stakes.
The following thoroughbreds have won the LKS MacKinnon Stakes – Melbourne Cup in the same year.
For Melbourne Stakes winners between 1937–1947 see Turnbull Stakes.
Front cover of the 1946 L.K.S. MacKinnon Stakes racebook.
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