Doncaster St. Leger festival: All you need to know

Doncaster’s St Leger Festival features numerous Group races and competitive action over four days, culminating in the final Classic of the season, the St Leger itself.

If you’ve found yourself wondering ‘what is the Doncaster St Leger festival?’, then this is the essential and all you need to know guide for one of the most important meetings of the Flat racing season.

What date is the St Leger 2023?

The St Leger festival is scheduled for four days starting on Thursday 14th September 2023 and finishing on Sunday 17th September 2023. The big race, the St Leger Stakes, will take place on the final day of the festival.

The latest horse racing betting odds at William Hill

Previous St Leger Winners

The St Leger holds the title as being the oldest of Britain’s five Classic races, first being run in 1776, four years earlier than the Epsom Derby.

It is contested over 1m6f at Doncaster and forms the final leg of the Triple Crown, with the earlier legs being the 2000 Guineas and the Derby.

It is usually won by a strong staying horse, and there have been many great champions crowned in the past, including Nijinsky, Dunfermline and Oh So Sharp.

Here is the full list of winners.

The Doncaster Cup

While the St Leger is the oldest Classic, the oldest race run at the festival, is the Doncaster Cup.

The event was first established in 1766, and it was originally called the Doncaster Gold Cup. It pre-dates Doncaster’s St. Leger Stakes by ten years, and is Doncaster’s oldest surviving race. It was only in 1776 though, when it was moved to its current location of Doncaster racecourse.

During the early part of its history the race was contested over 4 miles. It was shortened to 2 miles and 5 furlongs in 1825, and reduced to 2 miles and 2 furlongs in 1891. It was cut by another furlong in 1908, and restored to its previous length in 1927.

For a period, the Doncaster Cup was classed as a Group 3 but then was promoted to Group 2 in 2003.

The Doncaster Cup is one of Britain’s leading events for stayers. It is the final leg of the Stayers’ Triple Crown, preceded by the Gold Cup and the Goodwood Cup. The Doncaster Cup is the only British race where the winner has ballot-exempt entry to the Melbourne Cup.

The race is currently held on the third day of Doncaster’s four-day St. Leger Festival.

Staying legend Stradivarius, who retired to stud after Glorious Goodwood last year, has etched his name onto the Doncaster Cup twice in recent years (2019 and 2021) and his adoring public will have missed him in the 2022 contest, which was won by Andrew Balding’s Coltrane.

What to wear at the Races?

If the spectacular racing on offer isn’t enough to get you excited, then the fashion almost certainly will. No jeans, sportswear, or trainers, though. Men must wear a jacket and tie. Many racegoers will like to dress up and enjoy the day at Doncaster in style regardless of rules and the women will be vying to win the competition for Best Dressed Lady.

Latest Odds for the St Leger

Currently leading the market for the G1 St Leger Stakes is John & Thady Gosden’s Gregory, the winner of his first three starts, including the Group 2 Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot. A proven stayer over this distance, he’s expected to put in another good performance.

Aidan O’Brien’s Continuous is second favourite, having won his last start in the Group 2 Voltigeur Stakes at the York Ebor Festival. O’Brien has trained six winners of this race and could we be expected to see another this year.

Third in the betting is Willie Haggas’ Desert Hero, who is owned by the King and Queen and will be seeking a hat-trick having won his last two starts, most notably the Group 3 Gordon Stakes at Goodwood.

Also with a chance is another Gosden horse; Arrest. The colt was second by a head to Dubai Mile in the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud last year, and has won two Group 3 races this season, including the Geoffrey Freer Stakes over 1m5½f last month.

Check out all the latest horse racing betting odds at William Hill