The concept of shorter championship races for younger horses (ie three-year-olds) between 1776 and 1780 – the St Leger, Oaks and Derby in that order – was belatedly picked up by Newmarket with the introduction of even shorter races, the 2,000 Guineas (qv) in 1809 and the 1,000 in 1814.
Sir Charles Bunbury is known for losing a toss of a coin with Lord Derby to determine the name of the Epsom colts’ classic. Bunbury was the most important figure in the Jockey Club for decades and the instituting of the Guineas came under his watch.
As you might guess, the name of the race reflected the original prize money offered. Ten subscribers each paid 100 guineas into the race fund. The race’s eventual name may have been more cumbersome if a different amount had been subscribed.
The first 2,000 and the first 1,000 were won by Wizard and Charlotte, owned by Christopher “Kit” Wilson and ridden by Bill Clift. Both were Yorkshiremen, but from very different ends of the social spectrum. The now-forgotten Clift won thirteen classics, including five Derbys. He was the first jockey to win all five classics.
The 1,000 wasn’t instantly successful, partly due to trainer Robert Robson’s monopolisation of the race. He won it nine times in ten years, including a walkover in 1825. However, the standard improved gradually through the 19th century, partly on the back of the prestige of the 2,000. Fillies had fewer races to themselves and it was harder for them to become newsworthy.
Until 1872 the 1,000 was run not on the full Rowley Mile, but on the Ditch Mile – from the Running Gap to The Bushes – so from about 1m 2½f out to 2½f out, therefore omitting the uphill climb to the winning post that the colts had to contend with.
Sources include:
The Heath and the Horse (Oldrey, Cox and Nash)
Racecourses on the Flat (John Tyrrel)
Newmarket (Laura Thompson)