Goodwood Racecourse has decided to adjust the running order of their 2025 August Bank Holiday fixture with the Celebration Mile and Prestige Stakes moving from their traditional Saturday slot. These two big races will now take place on Sunday, the final day of the action at Goodwood, ensuring a climactic ending to the well-attended meeting.
Here we will outline why this change has occurred and provide a brief overview of both races.
Ebor Festival Clash Avoided
The main reason for tweaking the running order of the August Bank Holiday fixture was to avoid the Celebration Mile and Prestige Stakes clashing with York’s Ebor Festival. This year, York’s highly celebrated four-day fiesta of racing will take place between Wednesday 20th and Saturday 23rd August. Without altering the timetable, the final day of the Ebor would have clashed with the biggest day of Goodwood’s late August meeting.
🗞️ Goodwood Racecourse announces key Group race fixture change ahead of the 2025 flat season 🏇
Read more here ➡️ https://t.co/BCQplGV8xr pic.twitter.com/Ma0Pyn5KBL
— Goodwood Racecourse (@Goodwood_Races) February 24, 2025
Such a clash is far from ideal as it requires fans, connections and broadcasters to pick one high-class meeting over the other. Under the revised timetable though, the two big races of the August Bank Holiday meeting will now take place on the Sunday, the day after the Ebor Festival concludes. This change highlights the continuous collaboration between the two racecourses. Despite their large geographical separation, the two prestigious tracks have enjoyed a close relationship for many years.
The news has gone down well with broadcasters who can now show a full weekend of top racing action. In the words of ITV Racing Producer Paul Cooper:
“It’s great that Goodwood have been willing to show such flexibility in order to make the Sunday such a strong day of racing, after four days at York”.
He went on to say that:
“The Celebration Mile is always an excellent contest and will give us a great showpiece on that day. Another example of what can happen when racecourses work together with partners for the benefit of the sport and the terrestrial coverage.”
This arrangement is set to go beyond 2025 but it is not always the case that the Ebor Festival overlaps with the August Bank Holiday weekend. In some cases, York’s showpiece festival runs the week earlier. Whenever this is the case in future, Goodwood is expected to move the Celebration Mile and Prestige Stakes back to its traditional Saturday slot.
Celebration Mile
With Goodwood willing to change their schedule to ensure more focus is placed on the Celebration Mile and Prestige Stakes, it is worth looking at why these races deserve special attention. Starting with the Celebration Mile, it is a Group 2 event open to horses aged three and above. There are penalties for Group 1 and 2 winners while fillies and mares enjoy a small 3lb allowance.
As the name suggests, the event is contested over one mile and there is always celebration for the connections of the winning horse due to the sizeable purse. In 2024, the race was worth a tidy sum of £158,000, making it the richest event of the August Bank Holiday meeting at Goodwood. Founded in 1967, despite its lengthy history only two horses have won this contest twice, Chic (2004, 2005) and Lightning Spear (2016, 2017).
Notable one-time winners of this Group 2 contest include former Queen Elizabeth II Stakes champions Poet’s Voice (2010), Raven’s Pass (2008) and Mark of Esteem (1996) plus Lockinge Stakes winner Medicean (2000).
Prestige Stakes
Although not quite the most prestigious race of the Goodwood August Bank Holiday meeting, the Prestige Stakes is the other Group quality event to feature. Boasting Group 3 status, this contest is much more restrictive as it is open only to two-year-old fillies. There are penalties in place for former Group winners (5lbs for Group 1 & 2, 3lbs for Group 3).
The seven-furlong test offers a purse of £80,000 and enjoyed its first appearance in 1974. Fillies who feature in the contest sometimes appear in the Fillies’ Mile later in the year. Double winners are rare though, the last to manage the feat being Nannina in 2005. As promising as a two-year-old filly may look in this contest, many fail to fulfil their potential the following season. There have been a few exceptions though, such as Billesdon Brook (2017) and Amazing Maria (2013).
