The race was introduced by John Orton, a newly appointed Clerk of the Course at York.
It was replaced by an event at Newbury called the Newburgh Handicap, a reference to the town's original Norman name.
The race is now held on the final day of York's four-day Ebor Festival meeting, and it is the most valuable flat handicap in Europe.
[1] The prize money was increased to £500,000 from the 2018 running and then to £1,000,000 from 2019, making it the first British handicap race worth £1,000,000.
In connection with the prize money increase three-year-olds were excluded from the race from the 2019 running.