Originally known as the King’s Cup, the first race of the series was run on Saturday, 23 April 1927 at Flemington by the Victoria Racing Club in honour of the Royal Tour of their Royal Highnesses, the Duke (later to become King George VI) and Duchess of York (later to become Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mother). The original conditions for the series were decided upon by the Conference of Delegates from Principal Clubs in Australia and were approved by His Majesty King George V in 1927. The race, which was won by Spear Maiden, was worth 1250 Pounds to the winner. The owners also received a gold cup, which was a gift from The King. Not run during the war years of 1940-45, the Cup continued to be held frequently since the crowning of Queen Elizabeth II when Her Majesty ascended the throne in 1952, right up until her passing in 2022. The race is now known as the Queen Elizabeth II Cup to honour Her Majesty’s extraordinary life as the longest reigning monarch in British history. (b. 21 April 1926 - d.8 September 2022) The race has been won by many outstanding horses including Phar Lap, River Seine, Red Handed, Leilani, Yippyio and Demerger. In recent times, the race has been won by No Compromise (NZ) (2022), Soulcombe (GB) (2023), The Map (2024) and Campaldino (NZ) (2025). Today’s running of the Queen Elizabeth II Cup will be run over 2400m with total prizemoney of $200,000. It is recognised as a Group 3 or Listed Race by the International Cataloguing Standards Committee. QUEEN ELIZABETH II CUP
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