Surround Stakes Tips, Betting, Odds, Horses & More 2026

The Surround Stakes, a set weights race at Randwick Racecourse will be held on Saturday 28th February 2026. The 1,400m trip is a much-loved race by many and it certainly features some of the best horses the country has to offer. Over the years, the popularity of the Surround Stakes has only increased due to the quality field we see each year.

Let’s get you started with some quick facts about the Surround Stakes. Check out all the details here: 

The Surround Stakes is one of the major races on the Australian calendar. This year, the Surround Stakes will take place on the 28th of February and we can’t wait to see which horses line up as it is one of the most important Group One races, so there is plenty of talent on display. 

This Group 1 race is held each year at Randwick Racecourse, New South Wales and is named after champion horse Surround. Surround is still the only three-year-old filly to win the Cox Plate in the race's history! Randwick Racecourse is much-loved by many racing enthusiasts and it’s no doubt it is one of the top tracks in the whole of Australia.

The honour roll for the Surround Stakes is impressive, to say the least, and we even go through some of the best horses to ever win the Surround Stakes in our “Horses” section later on this page. This page is your one-stop shop for everything you need about the Surround Stakes.

The prize money is what makes a Group 1, a Group 1. For the Surround Stakes, the prize money is currently sitting at a cool $750,000. Previously, the Surround Stakes was held at Warwick Farm Racecourse until 2016, when it was permanently moved to its current location, Randwick Racecourse.

OnlyRacing’s Surround Stakes page will also go into detail about how to bet on the race, as well as the all-important tips for the upcoming race! There is so much to discover about the Surround Stakes and you can find everything you are looking for here.

Lock it in your calendar and visit OnlyRacing closer to the meet in late February to see our most up-to-date tips and analysis of the runners. Our expert tips include the best bet, next best and best roughie, so there’s something for everyone.

The prize money for the Surround Stakes is epic, to say the least. Let’s check out the breakdown of the cash:

Who doesn’t love some free horse racing tips? And you know what, we love providing them! So, it really is a win-win. Our experts take great pride in providing winners to our loyal readers but you’ll have to wait closer to race day in 2026 as our Surround Stakes tips aren’t available just yet.

We know how exciting it can be to bet on the winner in a race like the Surround Stakes and our experts will give you the best chance of success, providing their best bet, next best and best roughie for the race. We also have Randwick tips for more races that take place at the race if you're interested.

Our 2026 Surround Stakes tips aren’t available just yet, but you can check out our 2025 tips in the meantime:

Surround Stakes Best Bet - Lady Shenandoah

It’s the battles of the ladies in this one and it’s hard for me to see any runner other than Lady Shenandoah winning the Surround Stakes. Lady Shenandoah is currently paying $1.55 with PlayUp and Lady Of Camelot is on the second line of betting at $4.40, with odds of $16 or greater for the rest of the field.

There clearly isn’t a lot of value in Lady Shenandoah, but she is the best horse in the race and needs to be respected. Draws perfectly, won the Light Fingers Stakes last time out, books the services of James McDoland. There’s a lot to like about the 3YO. She’ll be looking for her fourth win in a row on Saturday.

Surround Stakes Next Best - Lady Of Camelot

No prizes for guessing who I’ve tipped as my next best in the Surround Stakes. It’s clearly a two-horse race in the market and I tend to agree with Lad Of Camelot going around with odds of $4.40 at the time of writing. It’s a pretty big gap to the rest of the field in terms of the odds.

Lady Of Camelot played second fiddle to Lady Shenandoah last time out in the Light Fingers Stakes, going down by 1.3L. Jockey Tim Clark retains the ride from that race and she draws reasonably well (barrier five). Three of the last four winners have jumped with odds of $10 or greater, but I think we will see that trend change on Saturday.

Surround Stakes Best Roughie - Declichy Boulevard

Obviously, every other runner other than the top two is going to be at roughie odds. After looking into some of the other contenders, I think Declichy Boulevard is in with a top-three finish in the Surround Stakes on Saturday. The filly is currently going around with odds of $34 at PlayUp.

Another one coming through the Light Fingers Stakes and in that one, she finished seventh, 3.6L off the leader. She was very close to toppling Lilac back in September and she is about half Declichy Boulevard’s quote. Yes, it is going to take a lot to turn the tables on the top two runners, but she’s got that X factor and should give this one a red-hot crack.

Betting on the Surround Stakes should be an easy and enjoyable experience. You’ve got a lot of different markets you can bet on and there are so many different betting apps to choose from. If you’re new to this world, it can seem overwhelming, but don’t worry because the team here at OnlyRacing have your back!

So, how do you choose who to bet with? It’s a question we get asked all the time! There are so many different horse racing betting sites, how can you know which one is best for you? The decision is made easy once you have all the information and you can find all the details you’re looking for by reading our bookie reviews.

We have reviews on all the top Australian betting sites and we go to great lengths to provide you with heaps of information, so you can choose the best bookie for you! No matter what you are looking for, we have it covered in our reviews, from who offers the best odds to who has the best betting sites bonuses and everything in between.

While you can find heaps of bookies on our bookie review page, we’d like to highlight three in particular that we think are the bees-knees, especially when it comes to Surround Stakes betting:

1. EliteBet - They are one of the best betting apps, especially if you’re looking for unique offers and bonuses.
2. BuffaloBet - If you like betting the favourite, they are the bookie for you! Not to mention the range of betting promotions as well!
3. Bet365 - One of the biggest players in the industry and they have some consistently great odds.

Those are just three bookies that we think you’ll like and there’s plenty more where that came from so why don’t you check our “Betting Sites” section above if you’re looking for more!

Who will be running in the 2026 Surround Stakes? Well, all will be revealed soon! The final field for the Surround Stakes hasn’t been released just yet, but if history is anything to go by, we will see a pack of high-quality runners fighting it out for serious prize money.

Along with the field, we also list the odds of all the runners in the race in our “Odds” section below, when available, so you can see who is favoured in the race. As the 2026 field hasn’t been released for the Surround Stakes, the odds will be constantly changing. So, if you see a price you like, jump on while you can.

You’ll have to wait a little longer to see the 2026 Surround Stakes field, but you can always look back and see the runners that competed in 2025:

For the Surround Stakes in 2025, we saw a field of 15 runners confirmed. It’s an improvement in recent years where we have seen around 13 runners compete. In the final field, we didn’t see any emergencies announced, so with the pre-race scratching of Movin Out, the final field size was reduced to 14.

Scratchings can happen at any time in the lead-up to the race and it is highly annoying to see that the horse you’ve bet on gets scratched, especially if it’s right before the race. However, it is good to know that you will get your stake back in this instance.

Something else that’s important to look into is the barrier draw. Each runner will have to deploy race tactics based on where they will be jumping from. Certain barriers are more successful than others and some runners' racing style makes them more attuned to specific barriers.

Finding out some key form indicators is an important step before placing any bets on the Surround Stakes. Reading a form guide can be confusing, especially if you aren’t a regular punter. This is why it’s a good idea to leave it to the experts here at OnlyRacing!

We’ve gone through the Surround Stakes form guide and found some interesting patterns that can help ensure you choose a runner based on the facts. The stats don’t lie! So, let’s dig into some of the key form indicators.

It should come as no surprise that the Light Fingers Stakes is the best lead-up race, as we always see many runners from that race also come to contest the Surround Stakes. The Light Fingers Stakes is by far the most successful lead-up race with 12 winners of the Surround Stakes from the last 16 years coming from this race.

You’ll also find that Surround Stakes winners come into the race in form. Only a handful of winners have finished worse than fourth in their lead-up race. In fact, only six winners since 2010 finished lower than fourth in their race before the Surround Stakes. 

In 2024, Tropical Squall won the Surround Stakes first up. Her race before the Surround Stakes was back in November of the previous year, in the Kennedy Oaks, where she finished 10th. In 2025, Lady Shenandoah won the Surround Stakes after winning the Light Fingers Stakes.

Since the Surround Stakes gained Group 1 status in 2018, the majority of winners have had a double-digit starting price. Four of the last eight races have seen a double-digit odds winner and three of the last five winners have had odds of $10 or above. However, in 2025, Lady Shenandoah won at the favourite, jumping with odds of $1.30.

On top of this, since 2018, the widest barrier a winner has jumped from is barrier six. So, you are better off looking at runners who have drawn an inside barrier. In 2025, Lady Shenandoah drew perfectly and won from barrier three.

We see some of the best horses on offer competing each year in the Surround Stakes. The rich history means it’s difficult to choose just a handful of winners to feature in this section. We have tried our best to choose the top Surround Stakes horses!

So, check out some of the best horses to win the Surround Stakes here:

More Joyous - 2010

The Gai Waterhouse-trained More Joyous won the 2010 Surround Stakes. She was also able to complete the Surround Stakes - Light Fingers Stakes double that year. The mare amassed over $4 million in prize money throughout her career thanks to wins in races like the Doncaster Mile, the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the Queen of the Turf Stakes and the George Main Stakes.

In total she won eight Group 1s throughout her career and in 2012 she was named the Australian Champion Middle Distance Racehorse. Her overall career record was an astounding 30:21-0-2, which presented excellent ROI for all those who backed her throughout her career.

Shoals - 2018

Shoals won the 2018 Surround Stakes, the first year the race was classed as a Group 1. While she only went on to win two Group 1s, she did build up her prize money to over $2 million throughout her entire career. The two other Group 1s were the Empire Rose Stakes along with the Robert Sangster Stakes.

Overall, her career record stands at 15:7-4-1 and she won a handful of Group 2s and Group 3s along the way as well. She won her first ever race in Seymour and it’s easy to say that the rest was history!

Probabeel - 2020

Purchased by Brendan and Jo Lindsay for just NZ$380,000, Probabeel ended her career with an amazing $4,358,978 in prize money! The filly started her racing career in New Zealand where she became the first horse to complete the Karaka Million 2YO - Karaka Million 3YO double.

She then made her way to Australia, where she won Group 1s like the Epsom Handicap,, the Futurity Stakes, the Caulfield Stakes along with the Surround Stakes. In the 2020/21 racing season, Probabeel was named the New Zealand Horse of the Year and she ended her career with a record of 29:13-8-0.

Looking for the Surround Stakes odds? Well, you’ve come to the right place because we will list all the latest odds as soon as they are available from our favourite bookie, PlayUp. No matter who you bet with, you’ll find that all the top horse racing betting apps will have markets up for the Surround Stakes well in advance of race day.

One thing that’s important to remember is that the odds will be constantly changing. Several factors influence odds changes when it comes to horse racing markets, so if you find a price you like, it’s a good idea to jump on it (you don’t want to risk the odds shortening!).

Betting when the market is “Before Noms” is also a good idea because this means that you’ll receive a refund if your chosen horse doesn’t end up making the final field. If you are betting when the market is listed at “All-In” you won’t receive such luxury.

The 2026 Surround Stakes odds aren’t available yet, but you can check out the odds for each runner in the 2025 race:

*Odds correct as of 27/02/2025.

The Surround Stakes only gained Group 1 status in 2018, but there is still a long history surrounding (see what we did there!) the race. Between 1979 and 1985, the Surround Stakes was listed as a Group 3, it was then elevated to Group 2 status between 1986 and 2017. 

The Surround Stakes is known as one of the key targets for 3YO fillies throughout the Sydney Autumn Carnival, which is one of the important horse racing carnivals on the calendar. The race was first won by Impede in 1979, a race that was contested under set weights.

As previously mentioned, the Surround Stakes is named after Surround, who had an amazing 3YO season in 1976/77. Obviously, her biggest win was the Cox Plate, but she also won several other Group 1 races including the Caulfield Guineas, the Queensland Oaks and the CF Orr Stakes.

A win in the Surround Stakes can really kick off the calendar year for a 3YO filly and it is raced on the same day as the Verry Elleegant Stakes (previously known as the Chipping Norton Stakes). We also see many runners compete in the Light Fingers Stakes before stepping out to the 1,400m Surround Stakes.

As you probably already know, the Surround Stakes is just one Group 1 of many that grace the Australian racing calendar each year. If you’re itching to know more about the other races, make sure you check out our Group One races list.

So, who will win the Surround Stakes in 2026? Unfortunately, we don’t know that (we would be rich if we did!). We have to wait like everyone else to see who will claim Group 1 glory. We do have all the results information on the latest edition of the Surround Stakes though, including the finishing order of all runners and a full race replay video.

In 2025, it was Lady Shenandoah, the heavy favourite at $1.30 that got the chocolates. She jumped from barrier three and everything went right, meaning a relatively easy victory was claimed. Lady Of Camelot, who was on the second line of betting, finished second, 0.2L off the leader.

Filling in the final minor placings was Lazzura, who was a little further back, finishing 3L off the pace, after jumping from barrier one. In the end, the 2025 Surround Stakes was run in a time of 1:20.56 and there was a total of 8.1L that split the first and last runners across the finishing line.

Check out the full Surround Stakes results for the race here:

It was a thrilling race in the Surround Stakes with so much action going down, it has to be seen to be believed. So, why don’t you check out the full race replay here:

There have been some pretty epic Surround Stakes races over the years, that’s for sure. We have gone through all the recent winners of the Surround Stakes (since the race was elevated to Group 1 status) and you can find all the details here:

Before you go off on your merry way, we have just one more section for you, our FAQ section. If you’ve got any final burning questions about the Surround Stakes, you’ll find what you’re looking for (we hope!). Check out the Surround Stakes FAQs here: