The pinnacle of horse racing are the Group 1 races. With the thoroughbred horse racing season drawing to a close in the Southern Hemisphere, all of the Group 1 races have been run. The racing season finishes on 31 July so it isn't long before we get to do it all over again.
Here are some interesting facts about Group 1 Horse Racing in Australia for the 2013/14 racing season.
1. There were 72 individual Group 1 Races held in Australia for the season
2. A total of 55 individual horses won Group 1 races in 2013/14 in Australia.
3. 46 individual stallions sired Group 1 winners
4. Almost 80% (57) of these races were run in Sydney and Melbourne. Melbourne heads the way with 30 to 27 in Sydney.
5. The shortest race is the Oakleigh Plate over 1000m while the Melbourne Cup and Sydney Cup at 3200m remain the longest.
6. Lankan Rupee, Guelph and Boban won Group 1 races in both Sydney and Melbourne. Buffering (Melbourne and Perth), Streama (Sydney and Brisbane) and Spirit of Boom (Melbourne and Brisbane) were other horses to have won two Group 1 races in different states.
7. The most common distance for a Group 1 race in Australia was 1600m which was the distance for 17 individual races.
8. A total of 26 races (36%) were run at distances greater than a mile.
9. Boban was the most successful racehorse in terms of Group 1's for the season winning three individual races. He won the Emirates in Melbourne, and the Chipping Norton and Epsom in Sydney. All three were run over 1600m.
10. Of Australia's Group 1 winners, 14 (19.4%) were born overseas.