2020 Epsom Derby

The 2020 Epsom Derby will be the 241st annual running of the Derby horse race. It was originally scheduled to take place at Epsom Downs Racecourse on 6 June, but was postponed until later in the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] The race is currently scheduled to take place on 4 July.[2]

2020 Epsom Derby
Epsom Derby
LocationEpsom Downs Racecourse
Date4 July 2020

The race will continue to be sponsored by Investec.

Race synopsis

Entries and race build-up

The initial entry for the 2020 Epsom Derby, announced in December 2018, consisted of 356 yearlings whose owners paid for each horse entered. The number of entries was an increase of 18 on the initial entry for the 2019 race, and included 12 horses from the Godolphin organisation and 75 from the Coolmore Stud. Khalid Abdullah entered 16 horses and five-time winning owner Aga Khan IV had 19 entries. Queen Elizabeth II entered 5 horses for the race.

Two wild card entries were planned, one for winning the Investec Derby "Wild Card" Conditions Race in September 2019 and the other for winning the 2020 Blue Riband Trial Stakes.[3] Grand Rock, trained by William Haggas won the September 2019 race to claim the first wild card entry.[4] The 2020 running of the Blue Riband Trial Stakes was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom[5]

The COVID outbreak lead to the Derby being postponed to 4 July, although the course and distance remained unchanged. The restrictions imposed owing to the pandemic meant that many of the traditional trial races for the Derby were either cancelled or rearranged. For example the Dante Stakes was cancelled whereas the King Edward VII Stakes which is usually run after the Derby became a trial race for the Epsom classic.

See also

References
  1. "Guineas and Derby meetings to be held later in the season, Jockey Club announces". Racing Post. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  2. Harding, Jonathan (29 May 2020). "When does racing return? Updated schedule including Royal Ascot and the Guineas". Racing Post. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  3. "Yearling Entries for the 2020 Epsom Derby Announced". Thoroughbred Daily News. 12 December 2018.
  4. "Grand Rock wins at Epsom to earn Investec Derby entry". Sky Sports. 29 September 2019.
  5. "Coronavirus: Horse racing in Great Britain suspended until end of April". BBC Sport. 17 March 2020.


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