Railway Stakes (New Zealand)
| Class | Group I |
|---|---|
| Location | Ellerslie Racecourse Auckland, New Zealand |
| Inaugurated | 1890 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred - Flat racing |
| Website | www |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1200m (6 furlongs) |
| Surface | Turf |
| Track | Right-handed |
| Qualification | Three-year-olds and up |
| Weight | Set Weights & Penalties |
| Purse | NZ$700,000 (2025) |
The Railway Stakes is a Group One New Zealand horse race. Held at Ellerslie it is raced over 1200 metres, and is one of New Zealand's feature sprint races.
Among its most notable winners are:
- Avantage, the winner of the 2021 Railway, the 2020 and 2021 Telegraph Handicap, 2020 Otaki-Maori Weight for Age, Foxbridge Plate and Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes.
- Bawakalasana the winner of both the Railway and the Telegraph Handicap in 1999.
- Diamond Lover in 1987 who broke the Ellerslie track record, running 1:07.73.
- Imperatriz in 2023, who went on to win multiple group 1 races in Australia.
- Loader, the winner of the Railway and Telegraph Handicap in 1996.
- Mayo Gold in 1970, the first winner to finish under 1:10.
- the great Mr Tiz, who won this race three times (1989-1991), the 1991 Waikato Sprint and the 1989 and 1990 Telegraph Handicap.
- Rizzio, the 1948 and 1949 winner.
- Tudor Light, in 1977.
- Yahabeebe, the 1957 and 1958 winner.
Some of the biggest upsets in the history of the race were in 2009 when Jacowils triumphed at odds of 104-1, and in 2011 when Miss Raggedy Ann won the race as the 86-1 outsider.
In 2014, the exceptional filly Bounding became the first 3-year-old to win the Railway in 33 years.
In 2025 the Railway Stakes was moved from on New Year's Day to the Karaka Million meeting in late January.