Spanish Grand Prix
The first Spanish Grand Prix in 1913 was not actually run to the Grand Prix formula of the day, but to touring car rules, taking place on a 300-kilometre road circuit at Guadarrama, near Madrid, on the road to Valladolid.
Gran Premio de Madrid
An earlier Gran Premio de Madrid, for 3 year olds over 2500 meters, was instituted in 1881 at the Hipódromo de la Castellana in Madrid. It was first called the Gran Premio de Madrid, changed to the Gran Premio Nacional, and then La Copa de su Majesdad el Rey. The modern-day Gran Premio de Madrid is considered to have been instituted in 1919, first held at Casa Real el Hipódromo de Aranjuez/Legamarejo; it was opened to older horses, and intended as an international race. It was moved to the Hipódromo de la Castellana until that racecourse closed in 1933. In 1933 it returned to its original venue at Aranjuez, and in 1934-35 was run at San Sebastián. In 1941 it was moved to the new Hipódromo de la Zarzuela. La Zarzuela went bankrupt in 1994, and the race was not held until new management re-opened the course in 2006. In 2006, after a 13-year hiatus, a 2,400-metre Gran Premio de Madrid was run, and the new weight conditions were 59.5 kilograms for 4 years and older and 52 kilograms for 3 years of age.