The St. Leger Festival is, nowadays, a four-day meeting staged at Doncaster Racecourse, on Town Moor, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, over a weekend in September. As the name suggests, the meeting revolves around the fifth and final Classic of the season, the St. Leger, which is run over an extended mile and three-quarters on day three. Together with the 2,000 Guineas and the Derby or, in the case of fillies, the 1,000 Guineas and the Oaks, the St. Leger forms the Triple Crown, or the Fillies’ Triple Crown, although neither has been won since 1985.
One of the most prestigious weekends in the British Flat racing calendar starts on Thursday, billed as ‘Ladies Day’, which features two Group 2 contests, namely the May Hill Stakes and the Park Hill Stakes. The former is open to two-year-old fillies, run over a mile and worth £120,000 in prize money, while the latter is open to fillies and mares aged three years and upwards, run over the same distance as the St. Leger and worth £150,000.
The staying division takes centre stage on Friday, with the running of the Group 2 Doncaster Cup, over two and a quarter miles, although the Group 2 Flying Childers, for two-year-olds over five furlongs, comes a close second-best in terms of monetary value. Saturday is all about the longest, and oldest, Classic, the St. Leger, but a full supporting card includes two Group 2 races, the Champagne Stakes and the Park Stakes, both over seven furlongs, plus the hugely competitive Portland Handicap, over an extended five furlongs.
The fourth and final day, known as St. Leger Community Funday, or Leger Sunday Funday, is deliberately crafted as a low-key affair to be enjoyed by all the members of the family. A seven-race card includes the Leger Legends Charity Race, the only race of its kind in Britain to feature retired professional jockeys, both Flat and National Hunt.