The King’s Stand Stakes

This is the second of 3 Group 1 races that are held on the first day of Royal Ascot. First ran in 1860, this race has the largest prize money of the day up for grabs. The King’s Stand Stakes are open to horses of three years old and older, though the race is not necessarily won by the younger horses.

The King’s Stand Stakes are also one of 2 races at Royal Ascot that are included in the Global Sprint Challenge, this is a prestigious international flat racing competition. This race seems to be more open than the Queen Anne Stakes, with a different jockey and trainer winning in each year since 2000.

The race was originally run over a much longer distance, but as the story goes, poor weather forced a shorter race over the usable part of the racecourse, thus setting the distance for the race going forward. The race itself is run in a straight line along the long edge of the course at Ascot (rather than being run round the triangular portion of the track).