Epsom Derby - 12F Turf Classic - Finished!

• Up to 3 entries per person, 14 horses total.
• A horse must have competed in at least one trial this year before entering a Classic race.

The Epsom Derby is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs (12F) on the first Saturday of June each year. It is Britain's richest horse race, and the most prestigious of the five Classics. It is sometimes referred to as the "Blue Riband" of the turf. The name "Derby" has become synonymous with great races all over the world, and as such has been borrowed many times, notably by the Kentucky Derby in the United States. The Derby run at Epsom is the original and in Great Britain is invariably referred to as "the Derby".

This race serves as the second leg to the (British) Triple Crown, preceded by the 2000 Guineas (8F) and followed by the St Leger (13F), though the feat of winning all three is rarely attempted.



Eligible Colts & Fillies
Chiricahua
♦ Djinn (Rhapsody)
Draconis
Dream Gazer
♦ General Disarray (Hard Tack)
Kyoto Kitten
London Bridge
Messalina
♦ Method (Rhapsody)
♦ Noble Hierarch (Hard Tack)
Purity
Regal
Rhapsody
♦ Sagittarius (Turn & Burn)
Thanos
♦ Vain (Rhapsody)
♦ War Hero (Rhapsody)

♦ denotes winners of trials this season (& owner)

Today, five colts and a lone filly will load into the gate at Epsom Downs for the 2019 rendition of the Derby. The winner of this race will take the fourth and second-to-last Classic of the year and second leg of the English Triple Crown.

Many colts and fillies don't even attempt all three legs of the Triple Crowns anymore, because the step up in distance is just too much. However, winning just one of the five Classics means the horse is truly exceptional amongst its peers. Since the 2000 Guineas winner, Rhapsody Stables' War Hero, is absent today, there is no Triple on the line this year.

Thanos is the favorite today despite not winning any trials yet this year. However, the colt usually performs well. Vain is narrowly behind his stablemate in odds. Noble Hierarch is the only filly feisty enough to enter and after her romp in the Chester Vase against some of these colts, she's looking like maybe she can do it again. Her stablemate General Disarray comes next, but he's been outshone a time or two in this Classic trail since his win in the Sandown Classic Trial in April. Method and London Bridge find themselves lower on the board as questions of whether they can handle the distance arise.