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The new British Champions’ Series has been created to present Flat racing’s most prestigious annual races as an overall sequence. The aim is to help spectators follow particular horses and their achievements throughout the season – like following a football club’s progress through a championship series.
Horses will be competing in five separate championship categories, according to their specialist distance or gender. Each category features six top races held at different racecourses throughout the summer. There will then be a championship final for each category held on the new British Champions’ Day.
Here is your guide to which races are part of the British Champions’ Series, plus the races to take place on the finale, British Champions’ Day:
CATEGORIES AND RACES
SPRINT
| Race | 1 | Race Status | 1 | Age of horse | 1 | Racecourse | 1 | Date |
| Temple Stakes | G2 | 3 YO+ | HAYDOCK PARK | 21st May | ||||
| King’s Stand Stakes * | G1 | 3 YO+ | ASCOT (Royal Ascot) | 14th June | ||||
| Golden Jubilee Stakes * | G1 | 3 YO+ | ASCOT (Royal Ascot) | 18th June | ||||
| July Cup * | G1 | 3 YO+ | NEWMARKET (July Meeting) | 9th July | ||||
| Nunthorpe Stakes | G1 | 2 YO+ | YORK (Ebor Meeting) | 19th August | ||||
| Sprint Cup | G1 | 3 YO+ | HAYDOCK PARK (Sprint Cup Meeting) | 3rd September |
* These races are also part of the Global Sprint Challenge series
MILE
| Race | 1 | Race Status | 1 | Age of horse | 1 | Racecourse | 1 | Date |
| 2000 Guineas Stakes ** | G1 | 3 YO (Excluding geldings) | NEWMARKET (Guineas Meeting) | 30th April | ||||
| Lockinge Stakes | G1 | 4 YO+ | NEWBURY (Lockinge Meeting) | 14th May | ||||
| St James’s Palace Stakes | G1 | 3 YO (Colts only) | ASCOT (Royal Ascot) | 14th June | ||||
| Queen Anne Stakes | G1 | 4 YO+ | ASCOT (Royal Ascot) | 14th June | ||||
| Sussex Stakes | G1 | 3 YO+ | GOODWOOD (Glorious Goodwood) | 27th July | ||||
| Joel Stakes | G2 | 3 YO+ | NEWMARKET (Cambridgeshire Meeting) | 24th September |
MIDDLE DISTANCE
| Race | 1 | Race Status | 1 | Age of horse | 1 | Racecourse | 1 | Date |
| Coronation Cup | G1 | 4 YO+ | EPSOM DOWNS (Derby Meeting) | 3rd June | ||||
| Derby ** | G1 | 3 YO (Excl. geldings) | EPSOM DOWNS (Derby Meeting) | 4th June | ||||
| Prince of Wales’s Stakes | G1 | 4 YO+ | ASCOT (Royal Ascot) | 15th June | ||||
| Eclipse Stakes | G1 | 3 YO+ | SANDOWN PARK (Eclipse Meeting) | 2nd July | ||||
| King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes | G1 | 3 YO+ | ASCOT (King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Meeting) | 23rd July | ||||
| International Stakes | G1 | 3 YO+ | YORK (Ebor Meeting) | 17th August |
FILLIES & MARES
| Race | 1 | Race Status | 1 | Age of horse | 1 | Racecourse | 1 | Date |
| 1000 Guineas Stakes ** | G1 | 3 YO | NEWMARKET (Guineas Meeting) | 1st May | ||||
| Oaks ** | G1 | 3 YO | EPSOM DOWNS (Derby Meeting) | 3rd June | ||||
| Coronation Stakes | G1 | 3 YO | ASCOT (Royal Ascot) | 17th June | ||||
| Falmouth Stakes | G1 | 3 YO+ | NEWMARKET (July Meeting) | 7th July | ||||
| Nassau Stakes | G1 | 3 YO+ | GOODWOOD (Glorious Goodwood) | 30th July | ||||
| Yorkshire Oaks | G1 | 3 YO+ | YORK (Ebor Meeting) | 18th August |
LONG DISTANCE
| Race | 1 | Race Status | 1 | Age of horse | 1 | Racecourse | 1 | Date |
| Yorkshire Cup | G2 | 4 YO+ | YORK (Dante Meeting) | 13th May | ||||
| Gold Cup | G1 | 4 YO+ | ASCOT (Royal Ascot) | 16th June | ||||
| Goodwood Cup | G2 | 3 YO+ | GOODWOOD (Glorious Goodwood) | 28th July | ||||
| Lonsdale Cup | G2 | 3 YO+ | YORK (Ebor Meeting) | 20th August | ||||
| Doncaster Cup | G2 | 3 YO+ | DONCASTER (St Leger Meeting) | 9th September | ||||
| St Leger Stakes ** | G1 | 3 YO | DONCASTER (St Leger Meeting) | 10th September |
** These races also form the British Classics series
BRITISH CHAMPIONS’ DAY AT ASCOT ON 15TH OCTOBER 2011
| Category (in order of running) | 1 | Race | 1 | Race Status | 1 | Age of horse |
| MIDDLE DISTANCE | Champion Stakes *** | G1 | 3 YO+ | |||
| MILE | Queen Elizabeth II Stakes *** | G1 | 3 YO+ | |||
| SPRINT | British Champions Sprint Stakes (formerly Diadem Stakes) + | G2 | 3 YO+ | |||
| LONG DISTANCE | British Champions Long Distance Cup (formerly Jockey Club Cup) + | G3 | 3 YO+ | |||
| FILLIES & MARES | British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes (formerly Pride Stakes) + | G2 | 3 YO+ |
*** These races are also part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge series
+ New race names for British Champions’ Day races – read more here
FUTURE CHAMPIONS’ DAY AT NEWMARKET ON 8TH OCTOBER 2011
There is also a new Future Champions’ Day to be held at Newmarket, where you can spot the top class young horses who will hopefully go on to become the stars of the British Champions’ Series in the future:
| Race | 1 | Race Status | 1 | Age of horse |
| Dewhurst Stakes | G1 | 2 YO | ||
| Middle Park Stakes | G1 | 2 YO | ||
| Rockfel Stakes | G2 | 2 YO | ||
| Autumn Stakes | G3 | 2 YO | ||
| Challenge Stakes | G2 | 3 YO+ | ||
| Darley Stakes | G3 | 3 YO+ | ||
| Cesarewitch Heritage Handicap | N/A | 3 YO+ |
GUIDE TO THE BRITISH CHAMPIONS’ SERIES 2011 – CLICK HERE
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Allison is the Publisher of Eclipse Magazine. She loves going to the Races and is learning to bet (despite being officially the worst bettor in the History of the Universe), there’s a lot more to learn…
