The Derby is the race the others are named after. It is also run on the strangest Group 1 track in Britain, and that matters more to your betting than the history does. Two days, two Classics, one race for the older horses, and a hill that has beaten plenty of good three-year-olds.
When and where
Epsom Downs Racecourse, Surrey, on the Downs above Epsom town. The Derby was first run in 1780 and is held on the first Saturday in June. The 2027 festival is Friday 4 June (Ladies Day, with the Oaks) and Saturday 5 June (Derby Day).
Gates open at 11:00 both days. The first race is 13:30. The Oaks is at 16:00 on Friday and the Derby at 16:00 on Saturday. The last race is 17:50 on Friday and 17:55 on Saturday. Eight races a day. All timings are provisional until the final cards are published.
Crowds on Derby Day usually exceed 100,000, many of them on the Hill in the middle of the course.
The track and why it matters
Epsom is not a circuit. It is roughly U-shaped, left-handed, with sprint chutes for the 5f, 6f and 7f starts. The Derby field climbs for the first part of the race, the equivalent of the height of Nelson’s Column by the course’s own description, then takes a wide, sweeping left-hand turn at Tattenham Corner while running downhill. The half-mile straight is mostly downhill too, with a sharp rise in the last hundred yards.
The effects for a punter: horses need balance to come down the hill at racing pace without losing their action; horses drawn or ridden wide at Tattenham Corner lose ground; and the final climb finds out anything that has used itself up on the descent. The downhill 5f course is the fastest in the country, with a record of 53.6 seconds. Sprint form from flat, galloping tracks does not always transfer here.
The big races
The Derby (Saturday, 16:00). Group 1 over 1m 4f 10y, for three-year-old colts and fillies. Geldings are excluded. Colts carry 9st 2lb, fillies get 3lb. The course bills it as Britain’s richest race. Fillies rarely run: the last was Cape Verdi in 1998, and the last filly to win was Fifinella in 1916. Lester Piggott rode nine winners. Recent winners: Desert Crown (2022, Sir Michael Stoute), Auguste Rodin (2023), City Of Troy (2024), Lambourn (2025) and Christmas Day (2026), the last four all trained by Aidan O’Brien. The winner is almost always a horse that has shown it can gallop over at least 1m 2f and has the temperament to settle in a big field.
The Oaks (Friday, 16:00). Group 1 over the same course and distance, for three-year-old fillies. First run in 1779, a year before the Derby. With the 1,000 Guineas and the St Leger it makes up the fillies’ Triple Crown. Recent winners: Tuesday (2022), Soul Sister (2023), Ezeliya (2024), Minnie Hauk (2025), Thundering On (2026). Stamina doubts are the usual betting angle, since many of the field are stepping up from 1m or 1m 2f.
Coronation Cup (Saturday, 14:40). Group 1 over 1m 4f, for four-year-olds and up. First run in 1902. It was run on the Friday from 1998 to 2025 and returned to Derby Day in 2026. Recent winners: Hukum (2022), Emily Upjohn (2023), Luxembourg (2024), Jan Brueghel (2025), Bay City Roller (2026). It is the first proper test of the older middle-distance horses each year.
Supporting races. The Diomed Stakes (Group 3, Friday), the Princess Elizabeth and Tattenham Corner Stakes (both Group 3, Saturday) and the Dash, a 5f heritage handicap on Derby Day.
Trends worth knowing
The result that stands out is Aidan O’Brien’s four Derby wins in a row from 2023 to 2026. That is a fact about the strength of one yard, not a system. Treat it as a reason to look hard at every O’Brien runner, not as a reason to back the shortest one.
We have not sourced reliable draw statistics for the Derby course, so we are not quoting any. Use the site’s form tools. Check whether a horse has won going left-handed. Check whether it has raced round a bend at pace or only on straight tracks. Check the trial form and the official ratings earned in it. Our guide at /guides/handicaps-and-official-ratings explains how to compare them.
Betting notes
Ante-post or day-of. Derby ante-post markets run all winter and most of the fancied horses are entered in several races in May and June. Many do not run. Standard ante-post terms lose your stake on a non-runner, so prefer non-runner no bet (NRNB) offers if you bet early. After the final declarations, prices are shorter but the risk is gone. See /guides/non-runners-and-your-bet.
Each-way. Check the field size on the day before assuming four places. Extra-place offers are common on Derby Day; compare the fraction as well as the places. See /guides/extra-places-explained.
Rule 4. A late withdrawal of a short-priced horse means a large deduction on the rest. Group races with small fields are where it bites hardest. See /guides/rule-4-deductions.
Getting there and tickets
The course is served by Epsom Downs and Tattenham Corner stations, and the postcode is KT18 5LQ. Enclosure tickets, hospitality, dress code and the timetable are on the official site at https://www.thejockeyclub.co.uk/epsom/the-derby/.
18+. Bet responsibly. BeGambleAware.org.