Run over the Rowley Mile at Newmarket in early May and open to three-year-colts and fillies, the 2,000 Guineas Stakes is, of course, the first of five British ‘Classic’ races. The race was inaugurated by the Jockey Club, under the stewardship of Sir Charles Bunbury, on April 18, 1809 and, notwithstanding sponsorship, the title still reflects the original prize money.
In the pre-decimal currency system, a.k.a. ‘£sd’ or ‘pounds, shillings and pence’, a pound consisted of 240 pence, or 20 shillings, with 12 pence to the shilling. In Britain, the term ‘guinea’ dates back to the second half of the sixteenth century, when it was used to describe a coin, worth 21 shillings, which was originally made from gold from the Republic of Guinea in West Africa. The coin was taken out of circulation in the late nineteenth century, but ‘guinea’ is still used in certain contexts, such as when quoting professional fees or prices, to describe the sum of 21 shillings, or £1.05 in modern terms.
According to the Bank of England inflation calculator – which, for the year 1809, relies on data collected from the Retail Price Index (RPI) – the original prize fund for the 2,000 Guineas, i.e. £2,100, would we worth nearly £140,000 in modern terms. For the record, the winner of the inaugural contest was Wizard, ridden by William ‘Bill’ Clift, who also rode the winner of the first 1,000 Guineas, Charlotte, for the same connections, five years later.
Fast forward the best part of two-and-a-bit centuries and the total prize fund for the 2023 renewal of the 2,000 Guineas was in the region of £500,000, of which the winner, Chaldean, carried off the lion’s share, of £283,550. Granted that that sum, alone, is more than double the modern equivalent of the original total prize money, it would be fair to say that, from connections’ point of view, the 2,000 Guineas has fared very well indeed, in terms of inflation.