The St. Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 132 yards (2,937 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.
Established in 1776, the St. Leger is the oldest of Britain's five Classics. It is the last of the five to be run each year, and its distance is longer than any of the other four.
The St. Leger is the final leg of the English Triple Crown, which begins with the 2,000 Guineas and continues with the Derby. It also completes the Fillies' Triple Crown, following on from the 1,000 Guineas and the Oaks. The St. Leger has rarely featured Triple Crown contenders in recent decades, with the only one in recent years being the 2012 2000 Guineas and Derby winner Camelot, who finished second in the St Leger.
Famous quotes containing the word stakes:
“This man was very clever and quick to learn anything in his line. Our tent was of a kind new to him; but when he had once seen it pitched, it was surprising how quickly he would find and prepare the pole and forked stakes to pitch it with, cutting and placing them right the first time, though I am sure that the majority of white men would have blundered several times.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)