British 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 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 – 1000 Guineas and 2000 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 possible for a filly to compete in both.

The second leg is made up of The 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 contest both.

The final leg is the St Leger, held over 1 mile 6+1⁄2 furlongs at Doncaster, which 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.

Geldings are excluded from the 2000 Guineas, Derby and St Leger, in common with all European Group One races restricted to three-year-olds.