Horse Racing

The 2016 How Now Stakes is a Group 3 sprint race run at Melbourne’s Caulfield Racecourse during mid-September each year. The How Now Stakes forms an integral part of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival and is open only to mares aged four-years-old and over.

In recent years the How Now Stakes has been the second leg of the Sportingbet Sprint Series, and is referred to as “Heat 2″. The How Now Stakes shares the race card with the Group 3 Naturalism Stakes (2000m), the two Group 3s formerly part of the Underwood Stakes Day program.

The How Now Stakes is raced over 1200m and is held under set weights with penalties conditions and offers $150,000 in total prize money.

One of the better recognised lead-up races to the How Now Stakes is the Group 3 Cockram Stakes (1200m) in August, run over 1200m. The Group 2 Let’s Elope Stakes (1400m) run a week earlier under the same conditions is also a good indicator of mares likely to remain in Melbourne to contest the How Now Stakes.

The 2016 How Now Stakes will be run on September 17th.

2016 How Now Stakes Field

The 2016 How Now Stakes field and barriers were released on Wednesday September 14 and feature a final line-up of 11 mares including the returning Mick Price-trained Secret Agenda.

Check out the official 2016 How Now Stakes Final Field & Barrier Draw – registered as the Ladbrokes Odds Boost Stakes – below complete with the latest How Now Stakes betting markets on offer from the race sponsor Ladbrokes.com.au.

2016 How Now Stakes Nominations

The 2016 How Now Stakes nominations were released by Racing Victoria on Monday September 12 and feautre 19 mares including the Robert Smerdon-trained Group 2 winner My Poppette.

View the full 2016 How Now Stakes Nominations & Ballot now.

How Now Stakes History

The How Now Stakes was inaugurated in 1999, with Snippet’s Lass taking out the race that year. While the How Now Stakes doesn’t hold the long and storied history of other Caulfield events, it still stands up on its own as a respectable and worthy event.

In 2005 there was a dead heat between Sarah Michelle and Brindabella. In the same year, the How Now Stakes was upgraded from a listed race to a Group 3 event, a status it has retained since.

The How Now Stakes has been known by a variety of names throughout its short history. These include the Cranbourne Diahatsu Stakes, Dubai Convention Bureau Stakes, Dubai International Stakes and Emirates Racing Association Stakes. In 2006, the How Now Stakes returned to its correct name. Then in 2013, the race became known as the Sportingbet Sprint Series Heat 2, a name that it continued to hold throughout 2014.

Notable How Now Stakes winners include Piavonic (2000), Valentine Miss (2010) and Catkins (2013). How Now Stakes results since 2000 are listed below.

How Now Stakes Results