Doncaster Racecourse its present location and in 1776 Colonel Anthony St. Leger founded a race in which five horses ran. This race has remained in existence and become the world's oldest classic horse race. During the first world war the racecourse was used for military purposes and substitute races were run at Newmarket from 1915 to 1918. Doncaster has the distinction of both starting and ending the flat season on turf. Every September, Doncaster hosts the prestigious four-day William Hill St. Leger Festival, which is acclaimed as the premier sporting occasion of the Autumn calendar. Doncaster has also taken over events whose
Thomas St. Leger despite the offer of large sums of money on his behalf. He had been executed with Sir John Rame. St. Leger, described by the "Crowland Chronicler" as a “most noble knight,” received a private burial. They are not buried in Rutland Chapel as most believe. His daughter Anne St Leger (14 January 1476 – 21 April 1526) eventually married George Manners, 11th Baron de Ros. Their son was Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland, and their daughter, Lady Eleanor Manners (1505 – 16 September 1548) married John Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Bath, and had descendants. Lady Anne St. Leger and