The Victoria Racing Club Oaks (known as the Crown Oaks for sponsorship reasons), is a

Victoria Racing Club The Victoria Racing Club was founded in 1864. It was formed following the disbanding of the Victoria Turf Club and the Victoria Jockey Club. A legacy passed from the Victoria Turf Club was the annual "race that stops a nation", the Melbourne Cup, ...

(VRC)

Group 1 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (motorsport), a regulation set of the FIA for series-production touring cars used in motorsport. * Group One Thoroughbred horse races, the leading e ...

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

for three-year-old

fillies A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, th ...

, run under set weights conditions, over 2,500 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 language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

on the third day of the VRC Spring Carnival, the Thursday after the

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is an annual Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia, at the Flemington Racecourse. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and older, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club that forms part of the ...

in early November. Total prize money for the race is A$1,000,000

History

Record attendance for the race day was set in 2004 with 110,677 in attendance.

1950 and 1952 racebooks

File:1950 VRC Oaks Stakes Racebook P1.jpg, 1950 VRC Oaks Stakes racebook front cover File:1950 VRC Oaks Stakes Racebook P2.jpg, 1950 VRC Oaks Stakes raceday officials File:1950 VRC Oaks Stakes Racebook P3.jpg, 1950 VRC Oaks Stakes winner, True Course File:1952 VRC Oaks Stakes Racebook P1.jpg, 1952 VRC Oaks Stakes racebook front cover File:1952 VRC Oaks Stakes Racebook P2.jpg, 1952 VRC Oaks Stakes raceday officials File:1952 VRC Oaks Stakes Racebook P3.jpg, 1952 VRC Oaks Stakes starters and results File:1952 VRC Oaks Stakes Racebook P4.jpg, 1952 VRC Oaks Stakes showing the winner, Waterlady File:1952 VRC Oaks Stakes Racebook P5.jpg, Back page showing railway arrangements and charges at the entrance gates

Name

*1861–1993 – VRC Oaks *1994–2016 – Crown Oaks *2017–2023 – Kennedy Oaks *2024 onwards – Crown Oaks

Distance

*1861–1971 – 1 miles (~2400 metres) *1972 – 2400 metres *1973 onwards – 2500 metres

Grade

*1855–1978 – Principal Race *1979 onwards – Group 1

Social attraction

Popularly known as Ladies Day or just Oaks Day (but in recent times also colloquially called Blokes Day), Kennedy Oaks Day has been an extraordinary phenomenon of racing. Despite being held on a work day (Melbourne Cup Day is the only public holiday during the racing carnival), Oaks Day boasts the fastest growing crowd records of any day in the Carnival; excluding the pandemic-impacted years of 2020 and 2021, every Oaks Day since 1994 has drawn a crowd of 50,000 or more. While the main draw card of the race day are the stars of the track, the other popular event on Crown Oaks Day is the annual "Fashions on the Field" celebrations. Introduced by the

in 1962 in an effort to woo more women to the track, Ladies day and the Fashions on the Field concept has grown considerably with each year and is now adopted at racetracks and smaller events all over the world.

Attendance

Source: *1980 – 37,098 *1981 – 37,353 *1982 – 37,028 *1983 – 38,633 *1984 – 40,812 *1985 – 39,051 *1986 – 42,649 *1987 – 45,329 *1988 – 48,490 *1989 – 51,673 *1990 – 50,196 *1991 – 54,023 *1992 – 50,925 *1993 – 46,744 *1994 – 50,176 *1995 – 62,388 *1996 – 67,086 *1997 – 75,482 *1998 – 77,301 *1999 – 83,870 *2000 – 96,406 *2001 – 101,201 *2002 – 103,269 *2003 – 101,179 *2004 – 110,677 *2005 – 100,263 *2006 – 104,131 *2007 – 95,230 *2008 – 89,338 *2009 – 80,112 *2010 – 75,088 *2011 – 71,659 *2012 – 71,825 *2013 – 66,757 *2014 – 64,430 *2015 – 57,560 *2016 – 60,888 *2017 – 63,673 *2018 – 61,355 *2019 – 57,296 *2020 – 0 (no attendance due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions) *2021 – 10,000 (restricted attendance due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

) *2022 – 45,046 *2023 – 46,596 *2024 – 50,873

Winners

*1861 – Palestine *1862 – Modesty *1863 – Aruma *1864 – Illumination *1865 – Lady Heron *1866 – Sea Gull *1867 – Sylvia *1868 – My Dream *1869 – Kestrel *1870 – Florence *1871 – Formosa *1872 – Sunshine *1873 – Rose D'amour *1874 – Gaslight *1875 – Maid Of All Work *1876 – Briseis *1877 – Pardon *1878 – Melita *1879 – Petrea *1880 – Sapphire *1881 – Royal Maid *1882 – Vaucluse *1883 – Quality *1884 – Venetia *1885 – Uralla *1886 – The Nun *1887 – Dainty *1888 – Pearlshell *1889 – Spice *1890 – Litigant *1891 – Tiraillerie *1892 – Etra Weenie *1893 – The Dauphine *1894 – Regina *1895 – Auraria *1896 – Thunder Queen *1897 – Eleusive *1898 – Symmetry *1899 – Nitre *1900 – Haulette *1901 – Beanba *1902 – Fishery *1903 – Sweet Nell *1904 – Red Streak *1905 – Lady Wallace *1906 – Yabba Gabba *1907 – Lady Rylstone *1908 – Nushka *1909 – Lady San *1910 – Styria *1911 – Wilari *1912 – Moe *1913 – Mint Sauce *1914 – Carlita *1915 – Rosanna *1916 – Thana *1917 – Folly Queen *1918 – Stagegirl *1919 – Hyades *1920 – Mufti *1921 – Furious *1922 – Scarlet *1923 – Frances Tressady *1924 – Miss Disraeli *1925 – Redshank *1926 – Lanson *1927 – Ninbela *1928 – Opera Queen *1929 – Lineage *1930 – Barbette *1931 – Gallantic *1932 – Protea *1933 – Golden Hair *1934 – Alinura *1935 – Nalda *1936 – Siren *1937 – Prairie Moon *1938 – French Gem *1939 – Triode *1940 – Session *1941 – Primavera *1942 – East End *1943 – Three Wheeler *1944 – Provoke *1945 – Cherie Marie *1946 – Sweet Chime *1947 – Nizam's Ring *1948 – Grey Nurse *1949 – Chicquita *1950 – True Course *1951 – Lady Havers *1952 – Waterlady *1953 – Waltzing Lady *1954 – Lady Mogambo *1955 – Evening Peal *1956 – Innesfell *1957 – Amarco *1958 – Chicola *1959 – Mintaway *1960 – Lady Sybil *1961 – Indian Summer *1962 – Arctic Star *1963 – Jingle Bells *1964 –

Light Fingers Light Fingers (1961−1988) was a New Zealand bred thoroughbred racehorse who won the Melbourne Cup in 1965. In 2017 Light Fingers was inducted to the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. Background The lightly built chestnut was by the highly succes ...

*1965 – Gipsy Queen *1966 – Farmer's Daughter *1967 – Chosen Lady *1968 – Double Steel *1969 – Goliette *1970 – Sanderae *1971 – Kiss Me Cait *1972 – Toltrice *1973 – Bonnybel *1974 – Leica Show *1975 – Denise's Joy *1976 – Surround *1977 – Show Ego *1978 – Scomeld *1979 – Brava Jeannie *1980 – November Rain *1981 – Rose Of Kingston *1982 – Rom's Stiletto *1983 – Taj Eclipse *1984 – Spirit Of Kingston *1985 – My Tristram's Belle *1986 – Diamond Shower *1987 – Sandy's Pleasure *1988 –

Research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

*1989 – Tristanagh *1990 – Weekend Delight *1991 – Richfield Lady *1992 – Slight Chance *1993 – Arborea *1994 – Northwood Plume *1995 – Saleous *1996 – My Brightia *1997 – Kensington Palace *1998 – Grand Archway *1999 – Tributes *2000 – Lovelorn *2001 – Magical Miss *2002 – Bulla Borghese *2003 – Special Harmony *2004 – Hollow Bullet *2005 – Serenade Rose *2006 –

Miss Finland Miss Suomi (Finnish language, Finnish for ''Miss Finland'') is a national beauty pageant in Finland. The pageant was founded in 1931, where the winners were sent to Miss Universe. History The Miss Suomi was held for the first time in 1931. B ...

*2007 – Arapaho Miss *2008 – Samantha Miss *2009 – Faint Perfume *2010 – Brazilian Pulse *2011 – Mosheen *2012 – Dear Demi *2013 – Kirramosa *2014 – Set Square *2015 – Jameka *2016 – Lasqueti Spirit *2017 – Pinot *2018 – Aristia *2019 – Miami Bound *2020 – Personal * 2021 – Willowy * 2022 – She's Extreme * 2023 – Zardozi * 2024 – Treasurethe Moment

References

{{VRC Race Days and Events Group 1 stakes races in Australia Flat horse races for three-year-old fillies Flemington Racecourse