Blue Diamond Stakes

Blue Diamond Stakes

The Blue Diamond Stakes is the premier race for two-year-old thoroughbreds held during the annual Melbourne Autumn Racing Carnival, the elite Group 1 feature conducted at Caulfield Racecourse in late February.

Run over a sprint distance of 1200m under set weight conditions, the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes is the richest juveniles feature of the carnival worth over $1 million in prize money.

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Blue Diamond Stakes Day is one of the biggest days of racing and betting during the year, offering punters an excellent line-up of eight Group status races to have a punt on.

Other features on the card include the Group 1 Futurity Stakes (1600m) and the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate (1100m).

Blue Diamond Stakes History

The Blue Diamond Stakes was inaugurated in 1971 when Tolerance claimed victory.

It began as a Principal race held over six furlongs before the race distance was converted to 1200m in 1973 with the introduction of the metric system to Australia.

In 1980 the quality of the race and the horses it attracted was formerly recognised as the Blue Diamond Stakes was elevated to a Group 1 event.

Blue Diamond Stakes Betting

Betting on the Blue Diamond Stakes is a huge affair as the race draws a massive prize pool and is included in a number of popular betting doubles.

Punters looking for a guide to their Blue Diamond Stakes wagers should keep an eye on the traditional lead-up races to the event, which are the Group 2 Blue Diamond Prelude for Colts & Geldings (1100m) and the Group 3 Blue Diamond Prelude for Fillies (1100m) both held at Caulfield a fortnight before the big event.

The 2009 Blue Diamond Stakes winner Reward For Effort won the Listed Blue Diamond Preview for Colts & Geldings (1000m) and then placed second in the Group 3 Blue Diamond Prelude (1100m) before winning the Blue Diamond Stakes.

Star Witness, the 2010 Blue Diamond Stakes winner, was coming off a win in the Listed Talindert Stakes (1100m) at Flemington in late January.

The Blue Diamond Stakes is also used by a number of two-year-olds as a lead-up to the $3.5 million Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill in early April, which is the richest race for two-year-olds in the world.

The best tip for enjoying a bigger win on the Blue Diamond Stakes is to get a better price on your selections by betting online at an Aussie bookmaker such as SportsBet or Luxbet, who beat the TAB for value, convenience and bonuses every time!

Blue Diamond Stakes Winners

Throughout history the Blue Diamond Stakes has been one by many classy two-year-olds who continued on to become Aussie turf champions and later some of the most successful sires including Manikato (1978), Redoute’s Choice (1999), Bel Esprit (2002), Alinghi (2004) and more recently Reward For Effort (2009) and Star Witness (2010).

The 2012 Blue Diamond Stakes will take place at Caulfield on February 26, 2012.

The most recent Blue Diamond Stakes winners and placegetters are listed below.

*In 2003 the Blue Diamonds Stakes victory was awarded to Kusi after original winner Roedean was disqualified from first place due to a positive swab result.