History
The event was established in 1849, and it was originally restricted to fillies aged three. The inaugural running was won by Ellen Middleton, owned by the 2nd Earl of Zetland.
The present system of race grading was introduced in 1971, and the Yorkshire Oaks was subsequently classed at Group 1 level. It was opened to older fillies and mares in 1991.
The race has been sponsored by Darley Stud since 2006, and it is currently held on the second day of York's four-day Ebor Festival meeting.
The Yorkshire Oaks often features horses which ran previously in the Epsom Oaks. The first to achieve victory in both races was Brown Duchess in 1861, and the most recent was Alexandrova in 2006.
Read more about this topic: Yorkshire Oaks
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