The event was established in 1881, and it was originally restricted to three-year-olds. It was staged at
Hanover until 1908, and for a period it was called the Norddeutsches Saint Leger. It was transferred to
Grunewald in 1909, and to
Hoppegarten in 1934. The race became known as the Lehndorff-Rennen in 1940. It was cancelled in 1945 and 1946, and held at Dortmund in 1947. It took place at
Düsseldorf in 1948 and 1949, and on the latter occasion it was renamed the Deutsches St. Leger. It began its current spell at Dortmund in 1950. The present system of race grading was introduced in Germany in 1972, and the Deutsches St. Leger was initially given Group 2 status. The first winner to complete a
Triple Crown (having previously won the
Henckel-Rennen and the
Deutsches Derby) was Königsstuhl in 1979. The Deutsches St. Leger was relegated to Group 3 level in 2005, and opened to older horses in 2007. ==Records==