The Classic races started with the St. Leger, the Oaks, the Derby, the 2,000 Guineas and the 1,000 Guineas. These races made up the racing season called the English Classic. Since these races were held in different venues, a couple in Epsom and some in Newmarket, they started off as regional competitions. These competitions rarely saw horses from different regions competing against each other due to the considerations that had to be given to the horses. These were due to the tiredness the horses would be experiencing on the travel to and from these venues. This trend continued until someone came up with the idea of having the thoroughbreds ride their own coaches pulled by other horses to their next race to help keep them in winning form.
These races were usually between two horses and were often races that were previously matched up. The deciding factor of these races, which had the horses running over a track that ran four to five miles, is the victory of one horse over the other twice. This means that a horse can only be declared the winner when he defeats his opponent twice on that track. These races were often taken part by nobles and betting was not yet formalized then. Wagers were made by the people who watched among themselves. The most famous of these old races which still exists to this day is probably the race called "Queen Anne Stakes". These races were the opening races of the yearly racing season of the Royal Ascot and were only recently elevated to a Group One status. The Coventry Stakes now takes the honour of being the first race of the Royal Ascot, being run on the first day.
These days, UK Horse Racing is controlled by a governing body that enforces the rules of the sport. The Jockey Club along with the BHC or British Horseracing Board and the British National Hunt Committee foresee the events and the needs of these races as well as the rules that need to be imposed. The major races are scheduled to be run in different areas during different times of the year from March till December. The main horse racing season in the UK, also called the main meetings, starts with Cheltenham in March and in Chepstow in December. These races go to and from any of these venues, with Newmarket having the most number of main meetings being held in the area.