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| Group I race | |
| 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$450,000 (2024) |
The Railway Stakes is a Group One New Zealand horse race. Held at Ellerslie on New Year's Day, it is held 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.