Group 1 race | |
Location | Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, Australia |
---|---|
Inaugurated | 1945 |
Race type | Thoroughbred - flat |
Race information | |
Distance | 1,600 metres |
Surface | Turf |
Track | Right-handed |
Qualification | Horses three years old and older |
Weight | Weight for Age |
Purse | A$5,000,000 (2023) |
Bonuses | Winner exemption from a ballot on the Epsom Handicap |
The King Charles III Stakes (formerly known as the George Main Stakes), is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race run under Weight for Age conditions, over a distance of 1600 metres at Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, Australia in September. Total prize money for the race is A$5,000,000.[1]
The race was named after George Main, a former chairman of the Australian Jockey Club. Main lived with his wife Mary on Retreat, a grazing property at Illabo, west of Cootamundra on the southwest slopes of New South Wales. He bred racehorses and ran sheep.[2]
The winner of the King Charles III Stakes is exempt from a ballot on the Epsom Handicap, and horses who run well often head for the Epsom.[2] The race was renamed in honour of Charles III in July 2023.[3]
† Not held because of outbreak of equine influenza[44]