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
Newmarket Handicap Newmarket Handicap The Newmarket Handicap is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred open handicap horse race over a distance of 1200 metres, at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in March during the VRC Autumn Racing Carnival. Prize money is A$1,250,000. The Newmarket Handicap is considered Australia's premier sprint race. First run in 1874, the brainchild of VRC committeeman Captain Frederick Standish who thought a "short and merry" race over six furlongs would add interest to the Club's autumn program. The Newmarket Handicap is the only Flemington race, apart from the Melbourne Cup, in which up to 24 horses are permitted