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Searching for a comprehensive Guineas Festival preview? That’s exactly what you are about to read through right here. The Guineas Festival is one of the stand-out festivals on the British racing calendar, and it’s currently taking place. To clarify, this festival is running from Friday, May 5th through to Sunday, May 7th. The entire festival unfolds at Newmarket Racecourse, and it is an annual horse racing meeting. So each and every year, we get to watch some top-flight races spread across three action-packed days.
As for the 2023 Guineas Festival, this is the main focus today. There are still plenty of exciting races scheduled for the next 24-48 hours, and I wish to give you all of the information needed for this popular event. Anyway, there is plenty to get through in this Guineas Festival preview, so let’s get right into the thick of things right now.
Guineas Festival History – A Classic Timeline
Contents
The Guineas Festival is a truly historic event when it comes to British horse racing. Some refer to this as the Guineas Meeting, but most refer to the three-day event as the Guineas Festival. Therefore, if you see the two phrases thrown around, just know that they are referencing the same event that is held at the start of May each year. As for the history of the Guineas Festival, there are a couple of races here that date back a considerable way.
Of course, the two largest races of the Guineas Festival are the 2000 Guineas and the 1000 Guineas. These events formed the base for the Guineas Festival that we now know today. And concerning the history of these two races, the 2000 Guineas dates back to 1809, making it more than 200 years old! The other significant event, the 1000 Guineas, dates back to 1814 – also putting it at 200+ years old.
Amazingly, these two events still headline the Guineas Festival today, and they have also formed what we know today as ‘The Classics’. To clarify, this refers to five huge races held in the UK, with the other three being The Derby, The Oaks, and St Ledger.
Guineas Festival Race List
Now that you are aware of the history and natural prestige surrounding the Guineas Festival, let’s come back to the present time. Regarding the 2023 Guineas Festival, the three days are full of truly awesome horse races. Let me give you the list of the biggest races held at the three-day festival for 2023:
- 2000 Guineas Stakes – Group 1 Race
- 1000 Guineas Stakes – Group 1 Race
- Jockey Club Stakes – Group 2 Race
- Howden Dahlia Stakes – Group 2 Race
- Gordon Richards Stakes – Group 3 Race
- Howdon Palace House Stakes – Group 3 Race
Please note that this is not the complete schedule for the Guineas Festival. This is merely a shortlist of the most significant races that are held during the three-day festival. Yet if you want to read through the entire breakdown for the Guineas Festival in 2023, don’t worry – I’ve covered this in the next section.
Guineas Festival Schedule
As I’ve referenced throughout here, the Guineas Festival is a three-day horse racing meet held at Newmarket each year. Therefore, this means that there are three full days of horse racing events to tune in for. So naturally, this produces a full schedule that fans can observe over a 72-hour period. Yet to ensure that you know exactly what is coming up and when, I feel it’s important to give you the full Guineas Festival schedule for 2023.
This can be viewed for each of the three days below:
Guineas Festival Day One – Friday, May 5th
Without wasting any time, let me share the exact race schedule for Friday, May 5th, right now:
- Newmarket Stakes – 13:15
- Bet365 Mile – 13:50
- King Charles II Stakes – 14:25
- Nyetimber Handicap – 15:00
- Jockey Club Stakes – 15:35
- British EBF Maiden Fillies’ Stakes – 16:10
- Nyetimber Maiden Fillies’ Stakes – 16:45
- Race Horse Lotto Handicap – 17:20
Guineas Festival Day Two – Saturday, May 6th
Day two is one of the most exciting of the three Guineas Festival dates, mainly because it hosts the Grade 1, 2000 Guineas Stakes event. As for the full schedule, here is how things are looking:
- Howden Handicap – 13:40
- Howden British EBF Ellen Chaloner Stakes – 14:15
- Howden Heritage Handicap – 14:50
- Suffolk Stakes – 15:25
- Howden Palace House Stakes – 16:00
- 2000 Guineas Stakes – 16:40
- Howden Insurance Handicap – 17:15
- Howden Bloodstock ‘Confined’ Handicap – 17:50
Guineas Festival Day Three – Sunday, May 7th
The third and final day of the Guineas Festival wraps up a thrilling three days of racing action. It’s the day when the 1000 Guineas Stakes is held, yet there are other top-tier races to watch as well. Here is the full list of Guineas Festival race times for day three:
- Bet365 Gordon Richards Stakes – 13:15
- Howden Handicap – 13:50
- Howden Pretty Polly Stakes – 14:25
- Howden Dahlia Stakes – 15:00
- 1000 Guineas Stakes – 15:40
- Howden British EBF Maiden Stakes – 16:15
- Howden Handicap (1) – 16:50
- Howden Handicap (2) – 17:25
Guineas Festival Top Contenders for Major Races
Given that the two largest races during the Guineas Festival relate to the 2000 Guineas Stakes and the 1000 Guineas Stakes, I’d like to cover them before finishing this Guineas Festival preview. Specifically, I’d like to make you aware of the top contenders for these major races before everything kicks off. So without further ado, please see the rundown of the main contenders for the top two races of the festival below:
2000 Guineas Stakes
Looking at the ante-post markets for the 2023 Guineas Festival, there are three horses that have sailed in front regarding the odds. To be specific, here are the top three 2000 Guineas favourites for this race:
- Auguste Rodin – 2/1 (3.00)
- Little Big Bear – 4/1 (5.00)
- Chaldean – 5/1 (6.00)
Any of these three horses have a realistic shot at winning the 2000 Guineas.
1000 Guineas Stakes
On Sunday, May 7th, the 1000 Guineas Stakes will be held. And regarding the most recent odds in the ante-post markets, the following three horses have emerged as favourites:
- Tahiyra – 3/1 (4.00)
- Meditate – 4/1 (5.00)
- Mammas Girl – 5/1 (6.00)
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