Newmarket 2000 Guineas 2024

The 2000 Guineas is the first of five classics run every year in Britain for the three-year-old generation, in this case, the race is primarily for the colts.

In a normal year, the prize money is huge at over £500,000 in total, the 2000 Guineas being run over the straight mile on the Rowley Mile course at Newmarket on the first Saturday in May.

The race was given its name upon its inauguration back in 1809 and refers to the original prize fund of 2000 guineas, worth around £171,000 in today’s money.

The 2000 Guineas is not just a huge Group One race in its own right but it is also seen as being absolutely crucial to the breeding industry, Guineas winners commanding huge fees at stud upon their retirement.

The race is fed by several trials including the Greenham Stakes and the Craven Stakes although winter favourites tend to be those juveniles who’ve won the Dewhurst Stakes, the Middle Park and even the six-furlong Coventry Stakes in June at Royal Ascot.

Some past winners of this race are remembered as bona fide superstars of the turf including Nijinsky, El Gran Senor, Zafonic, King’s Best, Sea The Stars and Frankel.