The Cambridgeshire Handicap dates back to 1839 and is held each year on the Rowley Mile course at Flat racing headquarters, Newmarket.
The flat race, run over one-mile-and-one-furlong, is for horses aged three or older and is normally run in late September.
The handicap contest is part of the 'Autumn Double' along with another major handicap - the Cesarewitch – although not many runners attempt the two races in the present day.
The race, sponsored by bet365, is normally held in late September and the 2025 edition takes place on Saturday 27th September.
The Cambridgeshire is always on the final day of Newmarket’s three-day Cambridgeshire meeting, with top-class racing over the course of the three days.
Newmarket is the venue for the annual handicap contest, with the race run on the Rowley Mile track over 1m1f.
The first edition of the race was run in 1839, with the inaugural Cambridgeshire won by Lanercost.
There are eight races to look forward to on day one of the Newmarket meeting, with the biggest race of the Thursday card being the Jockey Club Rose Bowl (4:10), which is a Listed Race.
The second day sees seven more races at Racing HQ, with back-to-back Group 2 races at 3:00 and 3:35 on the Friday.
The Dubai Rockfel Stakes is for two-year-olds run over 7f, while there is £125,000 up for grabs for the winner of the Dubai Joel Stakes – with the three-year-old contenders set to run over 1m.
Including the bet365 Cambridgeshire, the final day of the meeting offers seven top-class races with two Group 1 contests to also look forward to.
The Juddmonte Cheveley Park Stakes, a 6f sprint, takes place at 2:25 and offers £275,000 to the winning connections.
That is followed at 3:00 by the Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes, which dates back to 1866, also run over 6f for two-year-olds.
Nat Flatman and George Fordham both have four wins to their names, with all of those eight victories coming back in the 1800s.
In more recent times, three jockeys have enjoyed two wins in the Class 2 Handicap. Jimmy Fortune rode Pipedreamer to victory in 2007 and then Spark Plug in 2016.
Jamie Spencer is another two-time winner - on board Formal Decree in 2006 and Bedouin’s Story in 2021 – while Frankie Dettori, who has three wins overall, won back-to-back Cambridgeshire races in 2018 (Wissahickon) and 2019 (Lord North).
John Gosden leads the way in the list of trainers to enjoy success in the Cambridgeshire, with the Newmarket-based handler winning the handicap on five separate occasions.
Gosden’s first win in the race came back in 1994, when Halling – ridden by Frankie Dettori – claimed victory in the big race.
The trainer had to wait another 13 years for his next Cambridgeshire success, with Pipedreamer winning in 2007 and Gosden backed that up with Tazeez in 2008.
Gosden also enjoyed back-to-back success in 2018 and 2019, with wins for Dettori mounts Wissahickon and Lord North.
Here are the last 10 winners of the Cambridgeshire.
Year | Horse | Jockey | Trainer |
2015 | Third Time Lucky | Adam Beschizza | Richard Fahey |
2016 | Spark Plug | Jimmy Fortune | Brian Meehan |
2017 | Dolphin Vista | George Wood | Martyn Meade |
2018 | Wissahickon | Frankie Dettori | John Gosden |
2019 | Lord North | Frankie Dettori | John Gosden |
2020 | Majestic Dawn | Paul Hanagan | Paul & Oliver Cole |
2021 | Bedouin’s Story | Jamie Spencer | Saeed bin Suroor |
2022 | Majestic | Aidan Keeley | Mick Channon |
2023 | Astro King | Richard Kingscote | Daniel & Claire Kubler |
2024 | Liberty Lane | Clifford Lee | Karl Burke |