What Is A Stakes Race?

Going to watch the races is one of my favorite things to do, and has been for a long time.

I also love to put a little bet on here and there just to make things a bit more interesting.

There are so many different types of races and bets to make that I remember how bewildered and daunted I was at first when I was going to the races.

While out at a race with a friend who wasn’t so familiar as I am with the races, he mentioned he kept hearing people talk about stakes races, and he wasn’t sure what they were.

So, I decided to collate my experience and some research to explain it.

What is a stakes race?

Generally speaking, a stakes race in horse racing is a race in which the owners of the horses that participate must pay either a nomination fee, entry fee or a starting fee. Those fees are then added to the purse money that can be won by those betting on the races.

So, essentially, a stakes race is a race in which some or all of the prize money is contributed by the owners of the horses.

There is some ambiguity in the term nowadays, since most races have the owners contribute to prize money through entry fees.

Stakes races then can also be very prestigious, high profile and valuable races contested by the best horses—that is, what’s called listed or pattern races.

So, let’s break down the term a bit more.

What does stake race mean?

Traditionally, a stake race meant, as I mentioned, a race in which the prize is made up of money put down by the owners of the horses.

However, it’s much more common today that all owners contribute prize money through entry fees.

So, today, the term is very often used to describe listed or pattern races.

These are among the most prestigious races, contested by the best horses carrying the same weight.

No minimum official rating is required to run these races, but they are nevertheless considered more prestigious than handicap races.

Importantly, as I mentioned, these races are not handicap races as the horses all carry the same weights, subject to some age and sex penalties.

There are many different races run across the world, and though stakes race is not used as much these days to describe a race in which the prize money is made up by the owner’s entry fees, often it will still be used in this context.

How do stake races work?

Part of the reason what we used to call stakes races are now known as list or pattern races is because, given that these listed races are so prestigious, there is a typically a fairly high entry fee involved.

The fees paid by the owners are then added to the purse money.

Stakes racing is supposed to showcase the top horses in a particular group, such as three-year-old, or winners of select races.

Stakes races typically pay the most premium fees, so you can understand why the term has evolved the way it has.

In the past, owners may have paid entry fees, and they may not have been added to the prize purse.

On the other hand, they may not have paid entry fees at all.

Some stakes races today require not just entry fees, but nomination fees.

These fees can increase with the age of the horse, and some even opt to nominate their horse before it’s born.

For a horse that’s around a year old, you could expect to pay around $5,000 average per race.

For the Kentucky Derby, for example, all horses must be nominated and all fees paid before the horse turns two.

You can pay the fees later, but they will be substantially inflated after this point.

So, essentially, stakes races today are defined as the big, high-profile races, in which all the best horses compete, and in which very considerable fees are both paid for by the horse owners and then placed into the purse prize.

What is a graded stakes race?

In the U.S., the American Graded Stakes Committee exists to rate and grade horses that are then, assuming they meet the minimum requirements, given a ranking of either I, II, or III.

In the U.K., these are called group races.  

The grades simply reflect the quality of the horses, grade I being the highest.

For a grade III horse, the minimum purse requirement is $100,000, $200,000 for a grade II and, you guessed it, $300,000 for a grade I. again, these are simply incredibly lucrative and high-profile races run by the best horses and jockeys out there.

Horse racing is a very old tradition, and the terminology has changed and shifted a lot over the years.

What we might call a stakes race can differ by time and place, though there is essentially one or two accepted meanings of the term stake race.

In some ways with modern entry fees, all horse races nowadays are what might have been called a stakes race in the past.