The Ken Russell Memorial Classic is a Group 3 race for two-year-olds conducted by the Gold Coast Turf Club as a feature its premier May race meeting.

The Ken Russell Memorial Classic was first run as the Gold Coast 2YO Classic in 1974.

It became the Ken Russell Classic in 1994 when it was renamed in memory of the former champion Gold Coast jockey who was killed in a race fall at Rosehill in Sydney in 1993.

The Gold Coast/Ken Russell Classic was run over 1400m from 1974 until 1999. It was reduced to 1300m from 2000-2005 and has been run over 1200m since 2006.

The race was a handicap from 1974 until 1997 and became a quality handicap from 1998-2004. It has been run under set weight conditions since 2005.

It was run at Sunshine Coast in 2023 due to the redevelopment of the Gold Coast turf track.

The Gold Coast Ken Russell Classic became a Listed Race in 1984. The Ken Russell Classic became a Group 3 race in 2014.

The 2023 Ken Russell Memorial Classic was run for prizemoney of $200,000.

Notable winners of the Gold Coast Ken Russell Memorial Classic include Dungunnin, Romantic Dream, Royal Paree, Copperama, Riverdale, Tristram, Temple Front, Shot Of Comfort, Surtee, Pimpala Son, Brave Warrior, Ombra Della Sera, Gold Edition, Spirit Of Boom, Hot Snitzel, Sizzling and Nettuno.

The 2023 Ken Russell Memorial Classic was won by Russian Alliance from Abounding and Trifling.