The Craven Stakes is a Group 3flathorse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket in mid-April.
History
The event is named after William Craven, 6th Baron Craven,[1] a member of the Jockey Club in the 18th century. His support for racing at Newmarket led to the introduction of the Craven Meeting in 1771.[2]
The first race had a subscription of 5 guineas, to which 21 subscribed. It was to be run "from the ditch to the turn of the lands."
[3] The race was won by Pantaloon, owned by a Mr Vernon. Fourteen horses had taken part.
An open-age version of the Craven Stakes was staged annually until the 1870s.[4] It traditionally took place on a Monday in April, and was usually Newmarket's first race of the season. Several other venues had a race of the same name.
The present race, a one-mile event for three-year-olds, was established in 1878.[5] The inaugural running was won by Thurio.
The modern version of the Craven Stakes can serve as a trial for the 2,000 Guineas. The first horse to win both races was Scot Free in 1884. The most recent was Haafhd in 2004.
The Craven Stakes is currently held on the third day of Newmarket's three-day Craven Meeting.
Sir Michael Stoute – Shadeed (1985), Ajdal (1987), Doyoun (1988), Shaadi (1989), Alnasr Alwasheek (1992), Desert Story (1997), King of Happiness (2002), Adagio (2007)
^Whyte, James Christie (1840). History of the British turf, from the earliest period to the present day, Volume I. London: H. Colburn. p. 401. OL6544990M.
