What does Oaks mean in horse racing?

The Oaks is a Group 1 race open to three-year-old fillies and is one of five ‘Classics’ run throughout the Flat season.

Run at Epsom the day before the Derby, it’s the middle leg of the fillies’ Triple Crown, although it’s very rare that a horse even attempts to win all three.

Most countries with in-depth horse racing programmes now have their own equivalent.

The race itself

The Group 1 Oaks is a 1m4f race hosted every year at the very end of May or the start of June at Epsom, in its current iteration, and it’s actually one year older than the Derby. It has a huge impact on the breeding industry, as Oaks winners are very valuable at stud.

First run in 1778, the Earl Of Derby and his friends created the race during a party at his estate and the first ever winner, Bridget, was owned by the Lord Derby himself. The historical significance of the race can’t be understated and it remains very relevant.

Run over the same course and distance as the Derby, it’s currently sponsored by the bookmaker Betfred and was won in 2026 by Joseph O’Brien’s Thundering On. There are five Classics during the British Flat season and only two of them are exclusively open to fillies.

If a horse can win the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket and land the Oaks, the horse in question would be a St Leger win away from completing the fillies’ Triple Crown. The last horse to achieve that feat was the Henry Cecil-trained Oh So Sharp back in 1985.

Why the Oaks matters for form

It’s not always easy for the fillies to compete with the colts, so the fact that they have their own Group 1 programme enables us to work out who the best middle-distance fillies are. The absolute cream of the crop, such as Enable and Minding, were capable of doing so.

Clearly the Oaks is a significant race, as the form tends to play a part in the Group 1 races later on in the season, such as the Irish Oaks, Yorkshire Oaks and the Arc. Fillies who can win the Oaks, Irish Oaks and Yorkshire Oaks in the same season are a class apart.

Oaks winners tend to be high value broodmares once their racing careers finish and they are usually sent to the best stallions around. The impact the race can have is therefore likely to last for generations, which is why it remains one of the most important races in the world.

Oaks races around the world

As previously mentioned, the Irish Oaks is another very important race for the exact same reasons and it’s hosted by the Curragh.

York is home of the Yorkshire Oaks and the Kentucky Oaks is modelled after Epsom’s big event.

Other countries also have Oaks races, such as Italy and Australia, while the French equivalent is the shorter Prix de Diane.

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