Nowadays, the Norfok Stakes is a Group 2 contest, run over the minimum distance of five furlongs, open to two-year-olds and worth £15,000 in prize money. It is currently scheduled as the opening race on the fourth day of Royal Ascot, Gold Cup Day. The race was inaugurated, as the New Stakes, in 1843, 70 years before the Jockey Club made five furlongs the minimum distance in 1913, and in its early existence was staged over a furlong or so shorter. In 1973, the race was renamed in honour of Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, Duke of Norfolk, who had been Her Majesty’s Representative at Ascot until the previous year. The Norfolk Stakes was promoted to Group 2 status in 2006.
The legendary Lester Piggott, who rode nine winners of the Norfolk Stakes between 1961 and 1992, remains the leading jockey, while Aidan O’Brien, with four winners, currently shares the accolade of leading trainer with his nineteenth and early twentieth century counterparts, Matthew Dawson, John Porter and Henry Persse. The last 10 runnings of the race have produced just one winning favourite, Charles Darwin, who was sent off at odds-on in 2025. Three more of the last 10 winners were in the first three in the betting, but winners at 150/1, 50/1, 14/1 (twice) and 12/1 in the past decade suggest that punters should not be afraid to look beyond the more obvious selections.
Recent, preferably winning, form, within the last month or so, is a common thread among winners of the Norfolk Stakes. In fact, eight of the last 10 winners had recorded at least one win in the current season. Although Ascot Racecourse only stages three days’ Flat racing, including Royal Ascot Trials Day, ahead of the Royal Meeting itself, it is interesting to note that none of the last 10 winners of the Norfolk Stakes had previous course experience.