The 2000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat race open to three-year-old colts and fillies. Run over 1m at the famous Newmarket Rowley Mile, the event attracts some of the world’s quickest horses from the best stables.
This year, the race takes place on Saturday, 4 May, the day before the 1000 Guineas, with markets at talkSPORT BET already offering 2000 Guineas odds.
The race is one of the five ‘Classics’ of the British horse racing flat season, which comprise the 2000 Guineas, 1000 Guineas, Epsom Oaks, Epsom Derby, and the St. Leger.
Usually run in early May at Newmarket, the 2000 Guineas is often used as a trial for the Derby, which is also open to three-year-old colts and fillies. The Derby is run at Epsom a few weeks after the 2000 Guineas over a distance of 1m 4f.
The 1000 Guineas is restricted to fillies and can be used as a trial for the Oaks, which is run at Epsom over 1m 4f and is also restricted to fillies.
The final leg of the ‘Classics’ is the St. Leger at Doncaster, which is contested over 1m 6f and open to both colts and fillies. Due to the increasing distances and variety of tracks, the ‘Classics’ are a true challenge of a horse’s speed and stamina, but a win in any of them will mark their name down in history.
One of the best-known horses ever to grace a course, Frankel, produced a performance so impressive it will be talked about for decades to come. He won the 2000 Guineas in 2011 with a margin of victory that was truly incredible against some of the best horses around at the time.
The history of the 2000 Guineas
The 2000 Guineas dates to 1809 and was run five years before the 1000 Guineas began. Founded by the Jockey Club, the event was the idea of Sir Charles Bunbury, who had previously helped co-launch the Epsom Derby.
The 2000 Guineas has since been open to three-year-old horses of both sexes and has always been run on the famous Rowley Mile at Newmarket Racecourse. Often referred to as the ‘Home of Racing,’ Newmarket has thrived as being at the heart of equine elitism for centuries.
The race got its name from the original prize fund available, but today, the prize purse is over £500,000. This and the prestige of winning the race means stables and owners from across the world are attracted to entering their speediest runners.
The odds of the most recent 2000 Guineas winners
It was an emotional farewell for jockey Frankie Dettori, one of the biggest names in horse racing, who won the 2000 Guineas in 2023 on board the 7/2 shot, Chaldean, for trainer Andrew Balding. It had been announced this would be Dettori’s last crack at the race he had last won in 2016 aboard Galileo Gold. But the legendary Italian jockey produced the fairytale ending and secured a second 2000 Guineas win for the Balding yard in the space of four years.
In 2022, Coroebus won the race at 5/1 for jockey James Doyle. This was just the start of an incredible weekend for the British rider who completed a Guineas double when he won the 1000 Guineas the very next day on board Cachet.
Poetic Flare was a surprise winner in 2021 when getting up for Kevin Manning at a price of 16/1 for trainer Jim Bolger. The pair had previously won the race in 2013 when Dawn Approach landed the prize and a much shorter 11/8 odds.
Perhaps the most talked about performance was Frankel in 2011 when he was set off as the red-hot 1/2 favourite. He duly delivered in some style for jockey Tom Queally and trainer Henry Cecil, demolishing the field in the process.
| Year | Winner | Odds |
| 2023 | Chaldean | 7/2 |
| 2022 | Coroebus | 5/1 |
| 2021 | Poetic Flare | 16/1 |
| 2020 | Kameko | 10/1 |
| 2019 | Magna Grecia | 11/2 |
| 2018 | Saxon Warrior | 3/1 |
| 2017 | Churchill | 6/4 |
| 2016 | Galileo Gold | 14/1 |
2000 Guineas most successful trainers
When trying to find the winner of the 2000 Guineas, it can often help to research which trainers have won the race in recent years. This shows they know how to win the contest and get their runners ready for the speed and stamina test.
Aidan O’Brien is the master trainer of Newmarket and can claim an incredible ten 2000 Guineas winners between 1998 and 2019. This included a hat-trick of wins between 2017 and 2019, which also saw his Ballydoyle Stables boast four wins in five years.
Andrew Balding, who trained last year’s winner, Chaldean, should have some interesting contenders, too. The 2023 win was Balding’s second success after Kameko won in 2020.
Get Ante Post 2000 Guineas odds
If you cannot wait until May you can look at the Ante Post 2000 Guineas odds weeks before the event.
Ante-post betting is popular in horse racing as you will often get better odds. This is because the bookies are creating their prices well in advance of knowing what other horses might enter the race, the form of the horses when the race arrives, and the condition of the track on the day.
Bet on the Newmarket 2000 Guineas
The 2000 Guineas really is an incredible spectacle that sees the fastest and bravest three-year-olds aim to join an elite list of winners. You can keep an eye on all the 2000 Guineas markets that will be available as they open with talkSPORT BET.
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