2000 Guineas: Dates, runners, history and more

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 2024 edition of the 2000 Guineas is on Saturday, 4th May, with a provisional start time of 3.40.

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.

In total, the track stages nine of British racing's 36 annual Group 1 races.

2000 Guineas how to watch

The 2000 Guineas can be watched via the bet365 Sports Live Streaming service, while the race will also be shown on ITV Racing for terrestrial viewers in Britain and will also be broadcast on Racing TV.

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 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.

Chaldean was the winner of the 2023 Classic - a fairy-tale finish for Frankie Dettori, with the jockey taking part in his final 2000 Guineas. 

The win was Andrew Balding's second success in the race and his second in four years after training Kameko to victory in 2020. 

Hi Royal, who went off a massive 125/1, finished one-and-three-quarter-lengths behind Chaldean in second, whilst Royal Scotsman was a further half-length back in third.

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.

The 2000 Guineas can act as a trial for the Derby, and the last horse to win both was Aidan O'Brien's Camelot in 2012. 

Each year, the 2000 Guineas serves as the first leg of the Triple Crown, which is then followed by The Derby and St Leger, but it is rare for a horse to win all three.

The last horse to win the Triple Crown was Nijinsky, who prevailed in 1970. 

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

The late 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.