The Epsom Derby Festival is home to the richest flat race and one of the most prestigious race in British horse racing, The Epsom Derby.
The Epsom Derby Festival is a two-day flat race meeting that takes place at Epsom Downs Racecourse around the end of May and the beginning of June every year.
Day One, Ladies Day, featured The Oaks Stakes and Day Two, Derby Day, features the main event of the occasion, The Epsom Derby Stakes flat race.
Here’s an overview of each race that takes place at this incredible horse racing meeting every Summer:
Ladies Day – Day One
The first day of The Epsom Derby Festival is Ladies Day which features the high-value feature race: The Epsom Oaks Stakes.
Woodcote EBF Stakes
The Woodcote European Breeders Fund Stakes is a Class 2 conditions flat race that serves as the opening race of The Epsom Derby Festival every year.
Although the 2020 edition of The Epsom Derby was abandoned due to the global pandemic, The Woodcote EBF Stakes did go ahead on the rearranged date in July.
Exclusively open to horses aged just two years old, The Woodcote EBF Stakes runs a short race distance of just 6 furlongs and 3 yards and features a fairly small field of runners.
Epsom Mile Handicap
The Mile Handicap race of Day One of The Derby Festival is a Class 2 handicap flat race that is run annually at Epsom Downs Racecourse.
Open to horses aged four years old and above, The Epsom Mile Handicap runs a fairly short race distance of 1 mile and 113 yards and was contested by as many as 14 runners last time out.
Coronation Cup
Inaugurated in 1902, The Epsom Coronation Cup is a Class 1, Group 1 flat race that serves as the third race of Ladies Day at Epsom Downs Racecourse for The Epsom Derby Festival.
Open to horses aged four years old and up that had featured in The Oaks or The Derby the previous season, The Coronation Cup stretches a course distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards and featured 9 runners last time out.
Epsom Handicap
The Epsom Handicap is a Class 2 handicap flat race that takes place at Epsom Downs Racecourse for The Derby Festival every Summer.
Although the 2020 edition of The Epsom Derby was abandoned due to the global pandemic, The Epsom Handicap did go ahead on the rearranged date in July.
Open to horses aged four years old and above, The Epsom Handicap featured a moderate Epsom race distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 17 yards and featured 13 runners last time out.
Epsom Oaks
The Epsom Oaks is a Class 1, Group 1 flat race for fillies that serves as the high-value featured race of Ladies Day at The Epsom Derby Festival every year.
The Epsom Oaks did go ahead on the rearranged July date last year and was won by 11/10 race favourite ‘Love’, ridden by jockey Ryan Moore and trained by Aidan O’Brien.
Open to fillies aged three years old, The Oaks runs a race distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards and was contested by 8 runners last time out.
Surrey Stakes
The Surrey Stakes is a Class 1, Listed flat race that serves as the penultimate race of Day One, Ladies Day at The Epsom Derby Festival every year.
Although the 2020 edition of The Epsom Derby was abandoned due to the global pandemic, The Surrey Stakes did go ahead on the rearranged date in July.
Open to horses aged three years old and above, The Surrey Stakes stretches a lengthy 1 mile, 7 furlongs and 3 yards of Epsom Downs Racecourse and was contested by just 6 runners in 2020.
Epsom Handicap
The Epsom Handicap of Ladies is a Class 2 handicap flat race that is run as the final race of Ladies Day for the Epsom Derby Festival every Summer.
Although the 2020 edition of The Epsom Derby was abandoned due to the global pandemic, The Epsom Handicap did go ahead on the rearranged date in July.
Open to horses aged four years old and above, The Epsom Handicap runs just 7 furlongs and 3 yards of Epsom Downs Racecourse and was contested by 14 runners in the encore race of The Epsom Derby Festival 2020.
Derby Day – Day Two
The second day of The Epsom Derby Festival is the highly-anticipated Derby Day, featuring the richest race in British horse racing: The Epsom Derby.
Epsom Handicap
The Epsom Derby Day Handicap is a Class 2 handicap flat race that serves as the opening race of Derby Day at The Epsom Derby Festival every year.
Exclusively open to horses aged three years old, The Epsom Derby Day Handicap runs 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 17 yards of Epsom Downs Racecourse and featured 9 runners last time out.
Princess Elizabeth Stakes
The Princess Elizabeth Stakes is a Class 1 flat race for fillies that is run on Day Two of The Derby Festival every year at Epsom Downs Racecourse.
The Princess Elizabeth Stakes did go ahead on the rearranged July date last year and was won by 9/1 outsider Summer Romance, ridden by jockey William Buick and trained by Charlie Appleby.
Exclusively open to horses aged three years old, The Princess Elizabeth Stakes runs a course distance of 1 mile and 113 yards and was contended by just 6 runners in 2020.
Diomed Stakes
Inaugurated in 1971, The Diomed Stakes is a Class 1, Group 3 flat race that takes place annually on Derby Day at Epsom Downs Racecourse.
Open to horses aged three years old and above, The Diomed Stakes runs a race distance of 1 mile and 113 yards and usually featured a pretty small field of runners.
Epsom ‘Dash’ Handicap
The Epsom ‘Dash’ Handicap is a Class 2 handicap flat race that takes place on Derby Day of The Epsom Derby Festival every year.
Contested by horses aged three years old and above, The Epsom ‘Dash’ Handicap is the appropriate name for a race that runs just 5 furlongs of Epsom Downs Racecourse and features a large field of runners.
Epsom Derby Stakes
The Epsom Derby Stakes is a Class 1, Group 1 flat race that serves as the very high-value feature race of Derby Day at The Epsom Derby Festival every year.
The Epsom Derby Stakes did go ahead on the rearranged July date last year and was won by huge 25/1 outsider Serpentine, ridden by jockey Emmet McNamara and trained by Aidan O’Brien.
Exclusively open to horses aged just three years old, The Derby runs 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards of Epsom Downs Racecourse and offers around £1.6 million in prize money every year.
Epsom ‘Out Of The Ordinary’ Handicap
The Epsom ‘Out Of The Ordinary’ Handicap is a Class 2 handicap flat race that is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse on Derby Day of The Epsom Derby Festival every year.
Contested by horses aged four years old and above, The Epsom ‘Out Of The Ordinary’ Handicap runs a course distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards, just like The Derby itself, and usually features a medium-sized field of runners.
Epsom Handicap for The Tokyo Trophy
The Epsom Handicap for The Tokyo Trophy is a Class 2 handicap flat race that serves as the final race of The Epsom Derby Festival every year.
Open to horses aged four years old and up, The Epsom Handicap for The Tokyo Trophy runs a fairly short Epsom Downs Racecourse distance of just 6 furlongs and 3 yards and featured 14 runners last time out.
News
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Odds
Odds for The Epsom Derby Festival are some of the most generous you will find throughout the entire British horse racing calendar.
Odds on horses for the seven rearranged races of The Epsom Derby Festival 2020 were as high as 150/1, with a few examples of 100/1 prices, too.
The biggest upset of the rearranged Epsom Derby Festival 2020 was in The Derby itself which was won by 25/1 outsider Serpentine, ridden by jockey Emmet McNamara and trained by Aidan O’Brien.
This 25/1 result turned £10 outright backing stakes into £260 in returns, £250 in profits for those that had faith in this long outsider.
