Classic Horse Races Guide – The Classics Explained

Few sporting traditions capture the spirit of Britain quite like the Classic horse races. These five storied events, rooted in centuries of heritage, represent the gold standard of Flat racing for three-year-olds in the UK.

The 2000 Guineas, 1000 Guineas, The Oaks, The Derby and St Leger – the names just roll off the tongue and every year, top-class three-year-olds line up to take their shot at glory at some of the most iconic courses on the British Isles.

In this guide, we’ll discuss the 5 Classics in more detail, touch on their French counterparts and answer common questions about these showpiece contests.

What are the 5 Classic Horse Races?

Also known as the British Classic races, the events are a quintet of prestigious Flat races reserved exclusively for three-year-old colts and/or fillies. Plenty of horse racing tips surround them.

The races are the ultimate proving ground in the British Flat racing sphere, where eligible thoroughbreds have the chance to showcase their potential on the path to greatness.

Harking back to the late 18th century and formalised by The Jockey Club in a bid to standardise competitions and promote the best bloodlines, winning any of the 5 British Classics can elevate horses to legendary status.

Any horse that conquers the 2000 Guineas, The Derby, and the St Leger in a single season earns the coveted Triple Crown, though achievements that massive are rare. In fact, only 15 horses in history have completed the achievement, with Nijinsky (with Lester Piggott onboard) the last to do so in 1970.

For fillies, a similar path exists through the 1000 Guineas, The Oaks, and the St Leger, with the last Triple Crown success for that sex achieved by Oh So Sharp in 1985.

Alongside offering prestige and substantial prize pots for connections, winners of the “big 5” also usually go on to command top fees in the breeding shed.

English Classic Horse Races in More Detail

Below, we’ve taken a closer look at each of the British Classics, including their courses, distances and backgrounds.

2000 Guineas

• Inaugurated: 1809
• Course: Newmarket Rowley Mile
• Distance: 1 mile
• When: First Saturday in May
• For: 3yo colts and fillies (typically dominated by colts)

This race is the first Classic of the season and serves as the first leg of the English Triple Crown for colts. This Group 1 tussle, which is part of the Guineas Festival at Newmarket races, is often seen as the acid test for the best young milers around.

Runners vie for a prize fund exceeding £500,000 and horses trained by Charlie Appleby have claimed top billing in three of the last four years, with Ruling Court the latest Godolphin winner in 2025 following on from success for Notable Speech 12 months earlier.

The race has spawned some legendary winners over the years, including Frankel (2011), Nijinsky (1970) and all-timer Brigadier Gerard (1971). Irishman Aidan O’Brien is the race’s most successful trainer with 10 victories in this event, the most recent of which was Magna Grecia in 2019.

1000 Guineas

• Inaugurated: 1814
• Course: Newmarket Rowley Mile
• Distance: 1 mile
• When: Sunday following the 2000 Guineas, early May
• For: 3yo fillies only

Hot on the heels of its namesake, the 1000 Guineas mirrors its counterpart for distance and venue, though this race is for fillies only. Running just a day after the 2000 Guineas during the same Newmarket Guineas Festival, another bumper £500,000+ prize pot is up for grabs for those competing.

Charlie Appleby’s Desert Flower won the 2025 edition on her first start as a three-year-old, though Aidan O’Brien has been the race’s dominant trainer in the modern era, claiming seven wins since 2005.

Considered a cornerstone and career-defining race for fillies of this generation, winners of these Classic horse races used to progress to The Oaks. We’ll get into that one next.

The Oaks

• Inaugurated: 1779
• Course: Epsom Downs
• Distance: 1 mile 4 furlongs and 6 yards
• When: Final Friday in May or first Friday in June
• For: 3yo fillies only

Serving as the middle leg of the fillies’ Triple Crown, this event is half-a-mile longer than the 1000 Guineas, which might only look like a slightly lengthier trip, but in practice, the extra yardage makes a big difference.

The Oaks (or Epsom Oaks) had a total bounty of £573,150 in 2025, with Minnie Hauk just getting up from stable companion Whirl for the dominant Aidan O’Brien in May this year, his seventh triumph in the race’s last 11 iterations.

The days when prime three-year-old fillies can warm their engines for The Oaks with a strong showing at Newmarket are more or less gone. Indeed, recent renewals have rewarded punters backing those who have performed well over longer trips. Bigger yards are very much clued into the run of things however, as evidenced by O’Brien’s exceptional record.

The Derby

• Inaugurated: 1780
• Course: Epsom Downs
• Distance: 1 mile 4 furlongs and 10 yards
• When: First Saturday in June
• For: 3yo colts and fillies (predominantly colts)

Arguably the crème-de-la-crème of Classic horse racing, The Derby (or Epsom Derby) stands as the middle jewel in the English Triple Crown and has a purse to match (£1,500,000 in 2025).

Open to colts and fillies, the race tends to attract more attention than the other Classics each year, while it also has a habit of producing stars with the likes of Shergar, Sea The Stars, Camelot, Australia and Galileo listed among the race’s illustrious alumni.

As a Flat test that demands both speed and endurance, this run, often called the Premier Classic, was won by Aidan O’Brien’s Lambourn in 2025. That effort completed a hat-trick of successive Epsom Derby wins for O’Brien, who has trained nine of the last 14 winners overall.

St Leger

• Inaugurated: 1776
• Course: Doncaster
• Distance: 1 mile 6 furlongs and 115 yards
• When: Mid-September, during the St Leger Festival
• For: 3yo colts and fillies

The oldest of the five Classics, this event, hosted at Doncaster races since the last quarter of the 18th Century, completes both Triple Crowns and demands the longest distance of them at an extended mile-and-three-quarters.

Winners of the Epsom Derby rarely go on to contest the St Leger now, with horses bred for longer distances taking centre stage instead. The prolific Aidan O’Brien has won each of the last three and six of the last nine editions of the race overall.

His 2/1 favourite Scandinavia steered by Tom Marquand to victory in 2025 to claim the biggest share of the £700,000 purse.

French Classics in More Detail

While the English versions usually generate the most attention, the French 5 Classic horse races offer a parallel with a distinct Gallic flavour. Also restricted to three-year-olds and run during the vibrant Flat season in France, the prestigious events have their own lucrative prize funds.

Poule d’Essai des Poulains

• Inaugurated: 1883
• Course: ParisLongchamp
• Distance: 1 mile
• When: Early May
• For: 3yo colts

This contest, which is the French equivalent of the UK’s 2000 Guineas, launches the French Classics with a high-speed mile challenge at ParisLongchamp.

Restricted to colts and with a prize pot of €650,000, the 2025 edition went to Aidan O’Brien raider Henri Matisse. The race is considered a precursor to the Prix du Jockey Club in early June.

Poule d’Essai des Pouliches

• Inaugurated: 1883
• Course: ParisLongchamp
• Distance: 1 mile
• When: The same day as the Poulains, early May
• For: 3yo fillies

Mirroring the 1000 Guineas in the UK, the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches dedicates this French Classic to fillies, who are asked to prove their mettle over the same one-mile trip at Longchamp.

The Group 1 race, which has a purse of £500,000 and is open to 3-year-old fillies only, has routinely propelled stars towards the Prix de Diane. In 2025, Zarigana finished second past the post, but the stewards awarded her the race and demoted She’s Perfect from first place for interference.

Prix du Jockey Club

• Inaugurated: 1836
• Course: Chantilly
• Distance: 1 mile 2 furlongs 110 yards (shorter than Epsom’s)
• When: Early June
• For: 3yo colts & fillies

This event is similar to the Epsom Derby, but with a French accent, though its slightly shorter distance adds a twist to the UK formula. Hosted at Chantilly in June, this elite event boasts a prize fund of €1,500,000 and tests acceleration over undulating terrain.

The Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore combination delivered for connections with 7/2 favourite Camille Pissarro in 2025. Unfortunately, the winner has since been retired following an injury, meaning his days of competing in Classic horse races are over.

Prix de Diane

• Inaugurated: 1843
• Course: Chantilly
• Distance: 1 mile 1 furlong and 110 yards (shorter than Epsom)
• When: Late June
• For: 3yo fillies

As the French equivalent of The Oaks, this race is a showcase for top-level three-year-old fillies and is completed over an extended mile-and-a-quarter at Chantilly in Northern France.

Offering a mammoth €1,000,000 in prizes and considered one of the most important Group 1 horse races in France each year, the 2025 iteration was won by Francis-Henri Graffard’s Gezora, ahead of Aidan O’Brien runner Bedtime Story.

Grand Prix de Paris

• Inaugurated: 1863
• Course: ParisLongchamp
• Distance: 1 mile 4 furlongs
• When: 14 July on Bastille Day
• For: 3yo colts and fillies

Another race that’s comparable to The Derby in the UK, the Grand Prix de Paris rounds out the season’s French Classics with another annual epic at Longchamp.

It often provides the stage for redemption, with Prix du Jockey Club runners often returning to prove themselves over a longer trip. A prize pot of €600,000 is up for grabs, and the race has set the tone for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in October on occasion.

In 2025, Jean-Claude Rouget’s Leffard just prevailed and maintained the recent French stranglehold on this race.

FAQs