The four-day St. Leger Festival which begins next Wednesday (September 11) at Doncaster, culminates in the oldest Classic race in the world, The Ladbrokes St. Leger Stakes on the Saturday (September 14). This famous Group 1 contest for top-class three-year-olds was first held at Doncaster in 1776 and is sponsored for the ninth year by leading bookmaker, Ladbrokes. Contested over one mile, six furlongs and 132 yards, the fifth and final Classic of the 2013 season has a record prize fund of £600,000 and is part of The QIPCO British Champions Series
Possible contenders for the big race include Libertarian (runner-up in the Investec Derby), Excess Knowledge, Galileo Rock, Leading Light, Foundry and Eye Of The Storm.
The winning owner will receive the specially-commissioned St. Leger Trophy, depicting the White Rose of Yorkshire; the successful trainer will receive The Dick Hern Trophy – presented in memory of the six-times St. Leger-winning trainer – while the winning jockey will be presented with the traditional embroidered Jockeys’ Cap.
Also on Ladbrokes St. Leger Day, Doncaster hosts the first ever Arabian race to be run on a Classic card in Britain. The new addition is the Group 1 Qatar Racing Equestrian Club International Harwood Stakes, taking the total Prize money for the Festival to over £2 million (and in excess of £1 million on Saturday alone). There’s a 2-00 p.m. start to racing on Wednesday (The Crown Hotel at Bawtry Opening Day), while the action on both Thursday (DFS Ladies Day) and Friday (Speedy Services Doncaster Cup Day) gets underway at 1-40 p.m. Ladbrokes St. Leger Day Saturday begins at 2-05 p.m. Accompanied children under 16 years of age are admitted free of charge into all enclosures.
Racegoers are in for a treat on the opening day, when some of the most popular and successful jockeys from both codes of racing will don the silks one more time in the fourth renewal of the Leger Legends Classified Stakes over the straight mile – the fourth race on the programme and sponsored for the third time by Clipper Logistics. The race is in aid of two Yorkshire-based charity projects – The Northern Racing College at nearby Rossington Hall and The Injured Jockeys’ Fund, specifically ‘Jack Berry House’- the rehabilitation facility for retired and disabled jockeys to be constructed in the Malton area. Former St. Leger-winning jockeys, John Reid and Kevin Darley are set to ride in this special 16-runner race, along with dual Grand National-winning rider, Carl Llewellyn.
The first day of the Festival, as well as featuring The Clipper Logistics Legends Classified Stakes, includes The Crown Hotel Bawtry Scarbrough Stakes (a Listed race for sprinters over five furlongs), The Irish Stallion Farms EBF Conditions Stakes, The Park Hill Hospital Conditions Stakes, The Arena Group Nursery Handicap Stakes, The Berendsen Workwear Handicap Stakes and The Beauty At Doncaster Handicap Stakes
Style and glamour compliment the racing on Thursday with a host of prizes for the ‘Best Dressed Lady’ competition. Judges will be circulating in the County and Grandstand Enclosures prior to racing. Further details can be obtained from: www.doncaster-racecourse.co.uk The contest is once again supported by DFS – the UK’s leading upholstery manufacturer and retailer based in Doncaster, who will provide the star prize. Others donating prizes include ‘Beauty at Doncaster’, ‘Visit Bawtry’, Personal Shopping Experience, Coast Meadowhall and The Crown Hotel, Bawtry.
On the track, the highlights on Thursday are the Group 2 DFS Park Hill Stakes for fillies and mares over the St. Leger distance, The Weatherbys Hamilton Insurance £300,000 Two-Year-Old Stakes and The Japan Racing Association Sceptre Stakes (a Group 3 contest for fillies and mares). The European Breeders’ Fund Carrie Red Fillies’ Nursery Handicap (two-year-olds), The Download The Ladbrokes Bingo App Handicap Stakes, The DFS Handicap Stakes and The crownhotel-bawtry.com Irish EBF Maiden Stakes complete the line-up on Thursday.
A trio of famous Group 2 races dominate proceedings on Friday. Some of the best stayers in the business will face the starter in The Speedy Services Doncaster Cup over two and a quarter miles, while juvenile sprinters advertise their credentials in The Polypipe Flying Childers Stakes. Precocious two-year-old fillies have their opportunity for big race success in The Barrett Steel May Hill Stakes.
Two famous record-breaking steam locomotives built in the railway workshops at Doncaster, ‘The Mallard’ and ‘The Flying Scotsman’ are celebrated on Friday. This year’s renewal of The Ladbrokes Mallard Stakes, a handicap contest over the St. Leger distance, is now complimented by a new Listed race for two-year-olds, The One Call Insurance Flying Scotsman Stakes –a race won in 2010 as a juvenile by Frankel, who went on to become the highest-rated horse in the world. The Frank Whittle Partnership Classified Stakes and The Towndoor Limited Commercial Property Rental Handicap Stakes are also featured.
The Ladbrokes St. Leger Stakes takes pride of place on Saturday, and along with the new Group 1 Arabian race, a quality programme also features the Group 2 At The Races Champagne Stakes for leading two-year-olds with Classic and big-race aspirations for next year, The OLBG Park Stakes (another valuable Group 2 race), The Ladbrokes Portland (a Handicap for sprinters), The Harriet Powell Handicap Stakes, The Napoleons Casinos & Restaurants Handicap Stakes and The AgriArgo UK Tractor Challenge Nursery Handicap Stakes.
Both The Ladbrokes St. Leger Stakes and The Speedy Services Doncaster Cup are part of the QIPCO British Champions Series, now in its third season.
Accompanied children under 18 years of age are admitted free into all enclosures.
‘Beauty at Doncaster’ are present during the Festival with a beauty marquee on the Champagne Lawn and roving therapists. Racegoers can enjoy mini pamper treats and ‘emergency’ beauty treatment.
For ladies who are struggling with their shoes on both DFS Ladies Day and Ladbrokes St. Leger Day, Ladbrokes are running a golden flip-flop promotion with magnums of champagne as prizes. On Friday, the headline sponsors, Speedy Services – to celebrate their first-time sponsorship of the Doncaster Cup – will be having a 15 dart challenge competition with tickets to be won to go to the Alexandra Palace World Darts Championship in December.
Bands will be playing after racing in the County Enclosure on both Thursday and Friday, and in both the County and Grandstand Enclosures at the conclusion of racing on Saturday.
Big screens will enable racegoers to follow all of the action on the track, while a shuttle bus service is operating between the railway station and the racecourse, starting in the morning and returning after the fourth race with a stop off on the way back in the town centre.