2000 Guineas: Dates, venue, history, famous winners

The 2000 Guineas is one of the most anticipated events on the racing calendar and here is everything you need to know about one of Britain's five Classic races.

2000 Guineas date

The race is scheduled to take place at the beginning of May each year, making it the first Classic of the flat season. 

The 2026 edition of the 2000 Guineas is on Saturday 2nd May, with a provisional start time of 3.35.

2000 Guineas venue

The 2000 Guineas takes place at Newmarket racecourse in Suffolk, which is often referred to as the headquarters of British horse racing.

Along with the 2000 Guineas, the course also stages the 1000 Guineas, which takes place the following day.

2000 Guineas details

The 2000 Guineas is a flat race contested over 1m on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket and it is one of Britain's five Classic races - the others being the 1000 Guineas, The Oaks, The Derby and the St Leger.

It also acts as the opening leg of the English Triple Crown - The Derby and the St Leger are the other two - and attempting to win the trio is something that has rarely been attempted in recent decades.

2000 Guineas history

The 2000 Guineas was first run in April 1809 and it was run five years before the first-ever 1000 Guineas. 

Both contests were named according to their original prize funds, with a guinea amounting to £1.05 at the time of the early races.

By the 1860s, the 2000 Guineas, was one of the five leading events in British horse racing, and it remains one of the "Classics" to this day.

The British Classics are five Group 1 races, with both Guineas races named in the list alongside The Oaks, The Derby and St Leger Stakes.

2000 Guineas most successful trainer

Irish maestro Aidan O'Brien has won the 2000 Guineas a record 10 times, having first picked up the coveted prize in 1998 with King of Kings, who was ridden by Michael Kinane.

Rock of Gibraltar (2002), Footstepsinthesand (2005), George Washington (2006), Henrythenavigator (2008), Camelot (2012), Gleneagles (2015), Churchill (2017), Saxon Warrior (2018) and Magna Grecia (2019) are the Irishman's other wins.

2000 Guineas most successful jockey

Jem Robinson holds the record for the most 2000 Guineas victories as a jockey.

He claimed the spoils for the first of nine times in 1825 when aboard Enamel. Further victories came with Cadland (1828), Riddlesworth (1831), Clearwell (1833), Glencoe (1834), Ibrahim (1835), Bay Middleton (1836), Conyngham (1847) and Flatcatcher (1848).

2000 Guineas famous winners

Rockavon holds the record for winning the 2000 Guineas at the biggest odds, having gone off at 66/1 when triumphing in 1961 for trainer George Boyd.

The race was won by Frankel in 2011, with Henry Cecil's charge winning all 14 of his races before being retired to stud.

Sea The Stars also won the race in 2009 before winning The Derby in the same year, and he is widely regarded as one of the greatest racehorses of all time.

Godophin-owned Ruling Court won the race in 2025 and was part of an incredible weekend for the owners.

The Royal Blue outfit won the 1000 & 2000 Guineas as well as the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks, all taking place across two days.