The Derby at Epsom: History and Running for 2008

By Linda Haywood • June 6, 2008

This post is NOT about Basshunter - if you want Basshunter click here!

The 229th Derby begins today - the epitome of British racing. Horses are specially bred for this event, which commands total prize money of £1,413,500 and was watched by 3,649,000 people in 193 countries last year.

The Derby was named after Edward Smith Stanley, the 12th Earl of Derby and forms one of the five “Classics” - a series of races that are run over the flat (i.e. without hurdles) by three-year-old horses. The five races are:

Two Thousand Guineas Stakes
One Thousand Guineas Stakes
Oaks Stakes
Epsom Derby Stakes
St. Leger Stakes

The Two Thousand Guineas, St. Leger Stakes and The Derby make up the British Triple Crown which 15 horses have achieved, starting with West Australian in 1853 and ending for the moment with Nijinsky in 1970.
The race itself is a flat sprint. Epsom is shaped almost like a horse shoe. The start takes the jockeys along a fast straight that lead to a long and gradual bend. The bend sharpens at Tattenham Corner where the horses slow down before picking up into the home straight to finish in front of the Royal Box. It is Tattenham Corner where Emily Wilding Davison threw herself under the King’s horse in order to protest the lack of women’s suffrage in 1913.

Over the last 200 or so years, people from all walks of life have strived for Derby glory. The current Aga Khan has maintained his family’s proud traditions with four winners, the last being in 2000 when Sinndar carried his colours. His most famous victory was provided when Walter Swinburn galloped to a ten-length win aboard the ill-fated Shergar. Over the last ten years, none have been so dominant as Dubai’s ruling Maktoum’s family, winning the Derby no less than three times.

Shergar won the Derby by an unprecendented and unparalled 10 lengths only to be kidnapped from his stables in Ireland in a rumoured IRA plot. The reason that his disappearance caused such a stir is that a Derby-winners are almost exclusively retired to stud after their achievement and are put to work covering around 200 mares a year in an attempt to breed another Derby winner. At least one offspring, of such a clear-cut winner as Shergar, will be highly likely to win the Derby (given the right mare) and so Derby winners instantly become worth around £10 million.

Order of Running for the 2008 Epsom Derby

FRIDAY, JUNE 6 - LADIES DAY

BBC 1.40pm The Juddmonte Diomed Stakes (Group Three) 1m 114yds £50,000
BBC 2.10pm The Mile Handicap 1m 114yds £30,000
BBC 2.45pm The Rose Bowl Heritage Handicap 1m 2f 8yds £50,000
BBC 3.25pm The Juddmonte Coronation Cup (Group One) 1m 4f 10yds £200,000
BBC 4.05pm The Juddmonte Oaks (Group One) 1m 4f 10yds £350,000
4.50pm The Surrey Stakes (Listed) 7f £26,000
5.25pm The Tattenham Handicap 7f £20,000

SATURDAY, JUNE 7 - DERBY DAY

BBC 1.40pm The Epsom Downs Heritage Handicap 1m 2f 8yds £50,000
BBC 2.10pm The Woodcote Stakes (Listed) 6f £25,000
BBC 2.40pm The Princess Elizabeth Stakes (Group Three) 1m 114yds £50,000 (Sponsored by Vodafone)
BBC 3.15pm The ‘Dash’ Handicap 5f £50,000
BBC 4.00pm The Vodafone Derby Stakes (Group One) 1m 4f 10yds £1,250,000
4.45pm The Northern Dancer Handicap 1m 4f 10yds £25,000
5.20pm The Sprint Handicap 6f £25,000