St. Leger family of Lt. Col. (later Major-General) Anthony St. Leger, and ran for the first time over a two-mile course on Cantley Common in Doncaster. The classic race, The St. Leger, has been run at Doncaster ever since. Most St. Legers in the UK today descend from Sir Anthony St. Leger, KG of Ulcombe, Kent. The Viscounts Doneraile, whose seat was at Doneraile, Co. Cork, in Ireland, descend from Sir Anthony's first son, William, and the Heywards Hill branch of the family, also originally of Co. Cork, descend from his second son, Warham. (The account given in the "Peerage of Ireland" by
Manchester Racecourse race – the wartime substitute St. Leger Stakes in 1941. The Racecourse Hotel was built next to the course on Littleton Road in the 1930s, to serve the spectators and provide overnight accommodation for the Jockeys. The November handicap attracted crowds that spread right into the city centre and England's first ever evening meeting was held in 1951. In June 1952, at Castle Irwell, Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her first winner as an owner after acceding to the throne. By the 1960s the problems with the site were beginning to show and the club stand was found to be riddled