Inaugurated 1987 Sponsor Shadwell Distance 1 mile (1,609 metres) | Race type Flat / Thoroughbred Website Newmarket | |
Location Rowley Mile
Newmarket, England | ||
The Joel Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in late September.
History
The event was established in 1987, and it was originally called the Main Reef Stakes. It was named after Main Reef, a successful horse owned and bred by Jim Joel. It was initially restricted to three-year-olds and contested over 1 mile and 2 furlongs.
The race was opened to older horses and cut to a mile in 1989. For a period it was classed at Listed level. Jim Joel died in 1992, and it was renamed the Joel Stakes in 1994.
The Joel Stakes was promoted to Group 3 status in 2003. The Shadwell breeding organisation became its sponsor in 2008, and its full title included the name of Nayef, a Shadwell stallion for a period. It was upgraded to Group 2 in 2011.
The race is currently held on the second day of Newmarket's three-day Cambridgeshire Meeting, the day before the Cambridgeshire Handicap.