Oaks Stakes
| Group 1 race | |
1801 Oaks winner Eleanor
|
|
| Location |
Epsom Downs Epsom, England |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1779 |
| Race type | Flat / Thoroughbred |
| Sponsor | Investec |
| Website | Epsom Downs |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1m 4f 10y (2,423 m) |
| Surface | Turf |
| Track | Left-handed |
| Qualification | Three-year-old fillies |
| Weight | 9 st 0 lb |
| Purse |
£450,000 (2015) 1st: £255,195 |
The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yards (2,423 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in early June. (It has also been known as The Oaks. Increasingly it is coming to be referred to as the Epsom Oaks in both the UK and overseas countries, although 'Epsom' is not part of the official title of the race.)
It is the third of Britain's five Classic races to be held during the season, and the second of two restricted to fillies. It can also serve as the middle leg of the Fillies' Triple Crown, preceded by the 1,000 Guineas and followed by the St Leger, although the feat of winning all three is rarely attempted.
The event is named after The Oaks, an estate located to the east of Epsom which was leased to the 12th Earl of Derby in the 18th century. He and his guests devised the race during a party at the estate in 1778. It was first run (as the Oakes Stakes) in 1779, one year before the introduction of the Derby Stakes. The inaugural winner, Bridget, was owned by Lord Derby himself.
The Oaks subsequently became one of Britain's leading events for three-year-olds. By the mid-1860s, the five leading events for this age group were referred to as "Classics". The concept was later adopted in many other countries.
European variations of the Oaks include the Irish Oaks, the Preis der Diana, the Prix de Diane and the Oaks d'Italia. Other national equivalents include the AJC Oaks, the New Zealand Oaks and the Yushun Himba.
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