The Nunthorpe Stakes is one of the rare Group 1 flat races in which younger horses are allowed to compete with older, more experienced horses. Being for two year olds and up, the Nunthorpe Stakes is also known as a selling race as one of the features is the subsequent auctioning of the winner. Being only 5 furlongs and three yards in length, the race is fast, rarely going for as long as a minuute, and is designed to highlight strong starters.

While the Nunthorpe Stakes originally began in 1903 it became a conditions race is 1922 and has followed that form ever since. The Nunthorpe Stakes helps set the pace for a horse’s racing career. It can demonstrate a dedicated winner at an early age so it can be trained and leveraged up the ranks to become a top contender in the Classics as well. High Treason was the first juvenile to take the win from his elders in 1953. Kingsgate Native also took top honor from an older pack in 2007.

There have been two horses that have each won the Nunthorpe Stakes three separate years. Tag End, owned by Jack Joel, took the Nunthorpe in 1928, 1929 and 1930. Such a feat was not seen again until Monica Sheriffe’s Sharpo pulled the same three year winning streak in 1980, 1981, and 1982. The oldest horse to take top honors among the pack of youngsters was Bahamian Pirate in 2004 when he was first over the finish line at the age of nine.

The Nunthorpe Stakes is included as part of the Ebor Festival held in August. While not the greatest betting venue as so many of the contestants are young and relatively untried, the savvy gambler who watches for the potential in new blood can often find a profitable day testing youth against experience.