The Chemistry Race originated as a Czech competition Chemiklání at the University of Pardubice in 2015. It was founded by Jan Hrubeš with the help of his friends Martin Balouch and Adam Tywoniak. Chemiklání proved to be extremely popular among Czech pupils and the scale of the competition rapidly grew every year. In 2020, Adam Přáda, one of the organisers of the Czech competition and a Cambridge student, initiated a Cambridge branch of the competition called Cambridge Chemistry Race. In 2022, the competition expanded in the UK to the University of Oxford, when Samuel Holmes moved from the University of Cambridge, where he helped with the Cambridge Chemistry Race, to the University of Oxford.

Cambridge Chemistry Race is organised with the support of the Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge. Pardubice Chemistry Race is jointly organised by the voluntary association Alumni Scientiae Bohemicae (aka. ASB society) and the Faculty of Chemical Technology, University of Pardubice with the support of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic. The Oxford branch of the Chemistry Race is being supported by the RSC Thames Valley local section and the Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford.