Pontefract Racecourse is a premier racing venue located in West Yorkshire. The course, which is renowned for its undulating track, hosts 15 exciting annual fixtures. This includes the popular Pontefract Castle Stakes.

The race, which is run at Pontefract every June, is a Listed flat horse race that covers a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 5 yards. This is equal to 2,419 metres. Established in 2005, this is a fairly new race to the venue's fixture list. While initially able to be entered by male and female horses, the Pontefract Castle Stakes became an all-female race in 2017 and is now open to fillies and mares exclusively. Horses need to be four or older to enter this race.

The most successful horse in the Pontefract Castle Stakes history is Brown Panther; a thoroughbred racehorse that won in both the 2012 and 2013 runnings. A noteworthy jockey who has enjoyed great success at this race is Harry Bentley. Bentley won the Pontefract Castle Stakes with Isabel De Urbina in 2018 and Antonia De Vega 2020, being one of just two jockeys to have won twice. The other is Ryan Moore who crossed the line first with Abingdon in 2017 and Katara in 2021.

Recent winners include Loving Things (2016), Abingdon (2017),

Isabel De Urbina (2018), Bayshore Freeway (2019), Antonia De Vega (2020) and Katara (2021).