The VRC Champions Stakes, registered as the ''LKS Mackinnon Stakes'', is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

horse race run under Weight for Age conditions over a distance of 2000 metres at

Flemington Racecourse Flemington Racecourse is a major horse racing venue located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is most notable for hosting the Melbourne Cup, which is the world's richest handicap and the world's richest 3200-metre horse race. The race ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

, Australia on the last day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, the Saturday after the

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Me ...

. Total prize money is A$3,000,000.

History

The race is named after a former chairman of the Victoria Racing Club, Lauchlan Kenneth Scobie ("L.K.S.") MacKinnon (1861–1935). It was originally held on the first day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, Victoria Derby Day. In 2016, the VRC moved the race as the feature of the last day of the carnival, and moved the Cantala Stakes (the then feature of the last day of the carnival and at the time known as the Emirates Stakes) to the first day of the carnival. After the swap, the race would be known as simply the Emirates Stakes until 2017. Prior to 2016, many horses with a ranking high enough to avoid the ballot for the Melbourne Cup used the race as a lead-in to the 3,200 metre Cup, run on the first Tuesday in November (otherwise they race in the longer Hotham Handicap). The VRC believed that placing the race on the last day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival would attract quality horses, that raced in the

W. S. Cox Plate The W. S. Cox Plate is a Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and over under Weight for age conditions, over a distance of 2040 metres (approximately 1m 2f), that is held by the Moonee Valley Racing Club at M ...

, to run at the distance, rather than using the race to prepare for the

. In 2022, the race was renamed the VRC Champions Stakes in order to align with the branding of the entire race day, which is now called Champions Day (which also features rebranded Cantala Stakes and VRC Stakes) instead of Stakes Day. Delta 1950 VRC St Leger Flemington Racecourse Jockey Neville Sellwood Trainer Maurice McCarten

Delta 1950 VRC St Leger Flemington Racecourse Jockey Neville Sellwood Trainer Maurice McCarten

Tranquil Star 1946 Olympic Park Melbourne Farewell Jockey Scobie Breasley Trainer Ron Cameron

Name

''In 1937 the VRC moved the Melbourne Stakes to earlier in the spring, running it in September, over a shorter distance of . The race was the predecessor to the Turnbull Stakes.'' *1869–1936 - Melbourne Stakes *1937–1986 - LKS Mackinnon Stakes *1987–1989 - Occidental Mackinnon Stakes *1990 - LKS Mackinnon Stakes *1991–2000 - Louis Vuitton Mackinnon Stakes *2001–2004 - Thrifty Mackinnon Stakes *2005–2006 - Motorola Mackinnon Stakes *2007 - L'Oreal Paris Mackinnon Stakes *2008 - Crown Mackinnon Stakes *2009 - LKS Mackinnon Stakes *2010–2015 - Longines Mackinnon Stakes *2016–2017 - Emirates Stakes *2018–2020 - Seppelt Mackinnon Stakes *2021 - Paramount+ Mackinnon Stakes *2022– - TAB Champions Stakes

Distance

*1869–1971 - 1 miles (~2000 metres) *1972 onwards - 2000 metres

Grade

*1869–1978 - Principal Race *1979 onwards - Group 1

Doubles wins

The following thoroughbreds have won the LKS MacKinnon Stakes –

in the same year. * Malua (1884),

Carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and light ...

(1890), Phar Lap (1930),

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

(1932, 1934), The Trump (1937),

Comic Court Comic Court (1945–1973) was a most versatile post-war Australian bred Thoroughbred racehorse who set race records at distances of 6 furlongs (1,200 metres) and 2 miles (3,200 metres). He won the 1950 Melbourne Cup carrying and set an Australa ...

(1950), Delta (1951), Dalray (1952), Rising Fast (1954),

Rain Lover Rain Lover (1964-1989) was a champion Australian Thoroughbred racehorse best remembered for his back-to-back wins in the 1968 and 1969 VRC Melbourne Cup. Background Rain Lover was sired by the good racehorse, Latin Lover (GB) (a son of the unb ...

(1968), At Talaq (1986), Empire Rose (1988), Let's Elope (1991),

Rogan Josh Rogan josh (;Rogan Josh
Oxford Learners' Dictionary ) also spelled roghan jos ...

(1999)

Winners since 2000

Earlier winners

Ajax McCarten up at Rosehill, 18 September 1937

* 1999 -

Rogan Josh Rogan josh (;Rogan Josh
Oxford Learners' Dictionary ) also spelled roghan jos ...

* 1998 - Champagne * 1997 - Ebony Grosve * 1996 -

All Our Mob All Our Mob (foaled 1989) was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who was a four-time Group One winner. He was by What A Guest (IRE) out of All Sold (Northern Spring (IRE)-Tickets). All Our Mob, who had always shown plenty of speed but a te ...

* 1995 - Danewin * 1994 - Paris Lane * 1993 -

The Phantom ''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The ch ...

* 1992 - Veandercross * 1991 - Let's Elope * 1990 - Better Loosen Up * 1989 -

Horlicks Horlicks is a sweet malted milk hot drink powder developed by founders James and William Horlick. It was first sold as "Horlick's Infant and Invalids Food", soon adding "aged and travellers" to their label. In the early 20th century, it was ...

* 1988 - Empire Rose * 1987 - Rubiton * 1986 - At Talaq * 1985 - Rising Prince * 1984 - Bounty Hawk * 1983 - Veloso * 1982 - My Axeman * 1981 - Belmura Lad * 1980 - Belmura Lad * 1979 - Dulcify * 1978 - Family Of Man * 1977 -

Silver Lad Silver Lad was a Thoroughbred racehorse and sire who won the New Zealand Derby in 1976. In Australia he was known as Sir Silver Lad (NZ) to differentiate him from another Silver Lad.

* 1976 - Gold and Black * 1975 - Kiwi Can * 1974 -

Leilani Leilani may refer to: __NOTOC__ People *Leilani (singer) (born 1978), Leilani Sen, English pop singer *Leilani Bishop (born 1976), American model * Leilani Dowding (born 1980), English model *Leilani Ettel (born 2001), German snowboarder *Leilani F ...

* 1973 - Australasia * 1972 - Stormy Seas * 1971 - Skint Dip * 1970 - Voleur * 1969 - Roman Consul * 1968 -

* 1967 - Winfreux * 1966 - Tobin Bronze * 1965 - Yangtze * 1964 - Sir Dane * 1963 - Summer Fair * 1962 - Aquanita * 1961 -

Sky High Sky High or Skyhigh may refer to: Business * Sky High Aviation Services, an airline based in the Dominican Republic Film and television * ''Sky High'' (1922 film), an American silent film * ''Sky High'' (1951 film), a US Air Force comedy wit ...

* 1960 - Tulloch * 1959 - Trellios * 1958 - Monte Carlo * 1957 - Sailor's Guide * 1956 - Sir William * 1955 - Rising Fast * 1954 - Rising Fast * 1953 -

Hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic ...

* 1952 - Dalray * 1951 - Delta * 1950 -

* 1949 -

* 1948 - Snowstream * 1947 - Don Pedro * 1946 -

Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can b ...

* 1945 - Tranquil Star * 1944 - Tranquil Star * 1943 - Amana * 1942 - Tranquil Star * 1941 - Beau Vite * 1940 - Beau Vite * 1939 - Ortelle's Star * 1938 - Ajax * 1937 - The Trump Beau Vite 1940 MVRC W

Gloaming 1922 AJC Craven Plate Randwick Racecourse Owner George D Greenwood Trainer Richard J Mason

Poseidon 1906 VRC Melbourne Cup Owner Sir Hugh Denison Randwick Trainer Isaac Earnshaw

Melbourne Stakes (1869–1936)

* 1936 - Gay Blonde * 1935 - Sylvandale * 1934 -

* 1933 - Rogilla * 1932 -

* 1931 - Phar Lap * 1930 - Phar Lap * 1929 - High Syce * 1928 -

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

* 1927 - Silvius * 1926 -

Manfred ''Manfred: A dramatic poem'' is a closet drama written in 1816–1817 by Lord Byron. It contains supernatural elements, in keeping with the popularity of the ghost story in England at the time. It is a typical example of a Gothic fiction. Byr ...

* 1925 - Pilliewinkie * 1924 - Gloaming * 1923 - Rivoli * 1922 - Harvest King * 1921 - Eurythmic * 1920 - Eurythmic * 1919 - Cetigne * 1918 - Magpie * 1917 - Cetigne * 1916 - Lavendo * 1915 - Traquette * 1914 - St. Carwyne * 1913 - Anna Carlovna * 1912 - Duke Foote * 1911 - Trafalgar * 1910 - Son Of The Marsh * 1909 - Alawa * 1908 - Peru * 1907 -

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ch ...

* 1906 - Solution * 1905 - Tartan * 1904 - Gladsome * 1903 - Wakeful * 1902 - Wakeful * 1901 - Wakeful * 1900 - Lancaster * 1899 - Mora * 1898 - Battalion * 1897 - Battalion * 1896 - Disfigured * 1895 - Hova * 1894 - Ruenalf * 1893 - Loyalty * 1892 - Autonomy * 1891 - Marvel * 1890 -

* 1889 - Abercorn * 1888 - The Australian Peer * 1887 - Silver Mine * 1886 - Isonomy * 1885 - Trenton * 1884 - Malua * 1883 - Commotion * 1882 - Darebin * 1881 - Wheatear * 1880 -

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

* 1879 - First King * 1878 - Chester * 1877 - Robinson Crusoe * 1876 - Rapid Bay * 1875 - Kingsborough * 1874 - Dagworth * 1873 - Dagworth * 1872 - Contessa * 1871 -

Warrior A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have ...

* 1870 - Tim Whiffler * 1869 - Glencoe * The 1932 race was a dead-heat and has joint winners.

1946 &1954 racebooks

Image: 1946 VRC L.K.S. Mackinnon Stakes Racebook P1.jpg, Front cover of the 1946 L.K.S. MacKinnon Stakes racebook. Image: 1946 VRC L.K.S. Mackinnon Stakes Racebook P2.jpg, Inside cover showing raceday officials. Image: 1946 VRC L.K.S. Mackinnon Stakes Racebook P3.jpg, Starters and results showing the winner, Flight. File:1954 VRC LKS Mackinnon Stakes Racebook P1.jpg, Front cover of the 1954 VRC L.K.S. Mackinnon Stakes racebook. File:1954 VRC LKS Mackinnon Stakes Racebook P2.jpg, Inside cover showing raceday officials. File:1954 VRC LKS Mackinnon Stakes Racebook P3.jpg, Starters and results 1954 L.K.S. Mackinnon Stakes. File:1954 VRC LKS Mackinnon Stakes Racebook P4.jpg, Starters and results showing the winner, Rising Fast. File:1954 VRC LKS Mackinnon Stakes Racebook P5.jpg, Back cover showing Enclosure Information. Rising Fast (NZ)

Gothic 1928 VATC Caulfield Stakes Jockey Jim Pike Trainer Lou Robertson

References

{{VRC Race Days and Events Open middle distance horse races Group 1 stakes races in Australia Flemington Racecourse