The Craven Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket in mid-April.
The event is named after William Craven, 6th Baron Craven, a member of the Jockey Club in the 18th century. His support for racing at Newmarket led to the introduction of the Craven Meeting in 1771.
The first race had a subscription of 5 guineas, to which 21 subscribed. It was to be run "from the ditch to the turn of the lands." The race was won by Pantaloon, owned by a Mr Vernon. Fourteen horses had taken part.
An open-age version of the Craven Stakes was staged annually until the 1870s. It traditionally took place on a Monday in April, and was usually Newmarket's first race of the season. Several other venues had a race of the same name.
The present race, a one-mile event for three-year-olds, was established in 1878. The inaugural running was won by Thurio.
The modern version of the Craven Stakes can serve as a trial for the 2,000 Guineas. The first horse to win both races was Scot Free in 1884. The most recent was Haafhd in 2004.
Craven is a local government district of North Yorkshire, England centred on the market town of Skipton. In 1974, Craven district was formed as the merger of Skipton urban district, Settle Rural District and most of Skipton Rural District, all in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It comprises the upper reaches of Airedale, Wharfedale, Ribblesdale, and includes most of the Aire Gap and Craven Basin.
The name Craven is much older than the modern district, and encompassed a larger area. This history is also reflected in the way the term is still commonly used, for example by the Church of England.
Craven has been the name of this district throughout recorded history. Its extent in the 11th century can be deduced from The Domesday Book but its boundaries now differ according to whether considering administration, taxation or religion.
The derivation of the name Craven is uncertain, yet a Celtic origin related to the word for garlic (craf in Welsh) has been suggested as has the proto-Celtic *krab- suggesting scratched or scraped in some sense and even an alleged pre-Celtic word cravona, supposed to mean a stony region. In civic use the name Craven or Cravenshire had, before 1166, given way to Staincliffe. However the church Archdeaconry has kept its name as Craven throughout.
Craven is a local government district of North Yorkshire, England.
Craven may also refer to:
Craven is the surname of: