The Coronation Cup is a Group 1flathorse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards (2,420 metres), or about 1½ miles, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late May or early June.
History
The event was established in 1902 to commemorate the coronation of a new British monarch, King Edward VII. Epsom had staged a similar race, the Epsom Gold Cup, which was open to horses aged three or older. The Coronation Cup was temporarily switched to alternative venues during wartime periods, with runnings at Newmarket (1915–16, 1943–45) and Newbury (1941).
The race is contested on the first day of Epsom's two-day Derby Festival meeting, the same day as the Epsom Oaks. Its distance is the same as that of both the Oaks and the Epsom Derby, and it often features horses who competed in those events in the preceding seasons.
The race was run on the Thursday of the Derby meeting until 1994, it was run on a Saturday in 1975 (This was due to the European Community Membership referendum on the Thursday), 1995-97, 2012-16 and finally run on the Friday from 1998-2011 then from 2017-present
