St Leger to be run on Sunday from next year as Doncaster race bosses announce overhaul

For many years, the four day festival at Town Moor has run from Wednesday to Saturday, with the world’s oldest classic race, the St Leger, taking place on the final day of the meeting.

But going forwards the meeting will take place from Thursday to Saturday – meaning the race, which has been run at Doncaster since 1776 and is the world’s oldest Classic horse race, will find a new timeslot.

Rachel Harwood of Doncaster Racecourse said: “"Yesterday was our last ever Wednesday meet at the festival, as from next year we will be moving the Cazoo St Leger Festival to take place Thursday to Sunday.”

The four-day event has opened on a Wednesday since 1947, with a few exceptions, until 1970 when the St Leger meeting took permanent root being staged Wednesday to Saturday.

The aim of switching the festival is to give more people an opportunity to go racing.

Initially the St Leger was run on a Tuesday, as part of a four- or five-day festival. From 1807-24 it took place on a Monday, before moving back to Tuesday again.

In 1845 it advanced to Wednesday and took root there, as part of a top-class programme that lasted from Tuesday to Friday and drew the biggest racing crowds anywhere apart from The Derby.

As employment conditions steadily improved, thousands of workers across Yorkshire used their holidays to come to Doncaster in Race Week. Those dates lasted until the first post-war meeting in 1946 where it’s estimated that 250,000 people were present to watch the showpiece St Leger Stakes.

In 1947, the Government asked for the St Leger Stakes, the Derby and the Grand National to be moved from their traditional midweek dates to Saturdays, in order to reduce workplace absenteeism.

This year’s event kicked off at Town Moor yesterday, with supermodels Caprice and Jodie Kidd among those in attendance.

One of the highlights of Doncaster’s social calendar, Ladies Day, takes place today, while the St Leger itself will take place on Saturday.