There were five races commemorating Admiral Rous (1795-1877) in my base year 1982, all of them at premier racecourses. We are down to just a couple nowadays, at York and Ascot.
Quoting from my book, The History of Salisbury Racecourse ©:
The Admiral was one of the Turf’s greatest administrators. He was the second son of the Earl of Stradbroke, but went into the Navy aged 13 as a volunteer, and worked his way to the top on merit in a thirty year career. He was involved in several sea battles in the Adriatic which successfully disrupted Napoleon’s eastward expansion plans. Later he successfully commanded the severely damaged frigate Pique back from the Canadian coast, a journey of 1,500 miles. It had lost its keel and its rudder, and was letting in almost two feet of water every hour. He later claimed he was loath to turn back to Canada because he was anxious to be home in time for the next Newmarket meeting.
When he turned more of his attention to racing his skill and industriousness enabled him to implement a number of reforms, and his ability to read a race led to him becoming the senior handicapper. He devised the weight for age scale, recognising that younger, more immature horses need weight allowances in order for them to compete on equal terms with older horses. Rous’s scale has been subject to only minor alterations since he devised it in the 1860s. He was held in such high esteem that a collection started for him at a Salisbury meeting raised £1,000 in pledges that same day. He was ultimately presented with three silver candelabra, one of which depicted the Pique on its base.
The Admiral died in June of 1877, which was particularly frustrating as it precluded him from attending Royal Ascot. A subscription promptly raised £5,000 for racing charities, which evolved during the last 140+ years into The Rous Charity, adminstered by Racing Homes, formerly the Stable Lads Welfare Trust Housing Association.
Unfortunately for me, several courses have run Rous races in recent times. Dates in the distant past have caught my eye too, but I have not attempted a comprehensive listing.
ASCOT
The Rous Memorial Stakes at Ascot was first run on 23 July 1878 over a mile. “10sovs each, 5 forfeit to the Rous Memorial Fund, 1,000 sovs added.” Its best winner was the Triple Crown hero Ormonde, who contested the Ascot race in 1887, brushing aside the horse that would win the St Leger with ease, giving it 25lbs and a six-length beating. It was a handicap in 1982, and it’s now a five-furlong Listed race for two-year-olds at the early October meeting.
DONCASTER
The Rous Plate, later the Rous Nursery at Doncaster had been going since 1955 or earlier. It stuttered to a halt in 1993, when Piccolo was the last winner. He turned out to be a leading sprinter and as a stallion a prolific source of speedy juveniles. But there’d been a Rous Plate around 1879-81 and perhaps again between then and its later reincarnation.
GOODWOOD
Goodwood had staged a Rous Stakes in 1853 or earlier, but within a couple of months of his death a Rous Memorial Stakes for two-year-olds had been planned for the 1879 meeting. It attracted 178 entries. The Rous Memorial was run there until 1987.
NEWMARKET
There was a Rous Stakes at Newmarket by 1874 and it lasted until 2010, when it was a Listed race over five furlongs. That final winner was Tangerine Trees, who would go on to win the following year’s Prix de l’Abbaye.
YORK
A Rous Stakes was run at York at the Ebor meeting in the 1870s. The Rous 2yo Selling Stakes at York, run on 1 September in 1982, now takes place in June. It’s usually better than a typical selling race and northern trainers are apt to come out on top with a horse at single figure odds.
ELSEWHERE
There had been Rous races at yet more courses during and immediately after the Admiral’s lifetime. For example, the Rous Handicap had been run at the Epsom Derby meeting from 1857 and another Rous race was staged at Brighton in 1870. The number of “Rous Stakes” nationwide peaked in the 1870s.