Upcoming Festivals - Derby Day At Epsom Downs

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2020 Investec Derby Day At Epsom Downs
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Epsom Derby Festival amounts to just one racecard which is action-packed and includes the tantalizing prospect of the Oaks and the Derby taking place. As you can see from our latest Derby race card, you will have seven races taking place and, by the end of the Saturday racing, we will know the latest Oaks and Derby, winners:

1.50 pm Investec Woodcote EBF Stakes
2.25 pm Investec Surrey Stakes
3.00 pm Investec Handicap Stakes
3.40 pm Investec Oaks
4.15 pm Princess Elizabeth Stakes
4.55 pm Investec Derby
5.35 pm Investec Zebra Handicap Stakes
Epsom Derby Betting Tips
ENGLISH KING seems a very apt name for an Epsom Derby winner considering the royal connections that come with this historic race and we’ve seen several monarchs celebrate their horse crossing the line in the first place. Looking at the latest race card, this three-year-old is trading as the 9/4 favorite, with the Ed Walker-trained charge having looked in pristine condition on his last outing.

Jockey Tom Marquand was on board the horse when winning a Derby Trial Stakes at Lingfield on 5 June, with English King obliging as the 9/4 joint-favorite and it was a comfortable victory for a horse that could take all the beating over this distance.

However, we’ve been through some of the other horse racecards and feel as though KAMEKO could run a big race, with the horse having won his past two races including an impressive win in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.

The Andrew Balding-trained horse fended off the challenge of Wichita to oblige in the race and since then, there has been a steady flow of money for the runner who also finished ahead of Pinatubo in that race.

Aidan O’Brien is going to be mob-handed for this race and the Epsom Derby race card highlights that the legendary trainer is going to have plenty of lively chances for the Derby, with RUSSIAN EMPEROR, MOGUL, and VATICAN CITY all trading at a similar price. It will be interesting to see which jockeys are selected to ride.

Epsom Oaks Betting Tips
The Epsom Oaks racecards have now been published and we’re really excited about this prestigious race which takes place on the Epsom Derby race card this year. The Oaks has traditionally taken place the day before the Derby, although we’ve got a one-day Epsom Derby Festival this year and that means the fillies will compete as part of a Derby racecard.

LOVE is what a lot of punters are going to be feeling for this horse if she manages to oblige in the 2020 Oaks considering that the Aidan O’Brien-trained charge is trading at odds of 11/8 at the time of writing. The fillie was hit and miss during 2019, although her recent outing when winning the 1,000 Guineas laid down a marker.

The horse won the Guineas by over four lengths and will now look to emulate that performance on a different track, although the Oaks racecard indicates that FRANKLY DARLING has to have a good chance of going close considering that we have the famed John Gosden and Frankie Dettori partnership. Gosden saddles the superstar that is Enable and perhaps his three-year-old in this race can be every inch as good, with the filly firstly striking on the all-weather at Newcastle before landing victory in the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Derby Festival 2019 Preview
Ladies’ Day Betting Highlights
Woodcote Stakes (Class 2), 6f
This might not be the highest class contest in the flat racing season, but the six-furlong dash for two-year-olds does attract a good deal of betting interest. Like other races at the meeting, this has a long history, dating back to 1794. It can prove a useful race when assessing which youngsters might go on to bigger and better things the following season.

Coronation Cup (Group 1), 1m4f
This Group One race run over the Derby and Oaks distance gives runners aged four and older a fine race to contest. Inaugurated in 1902 to commemorate the crowning of King Edward VII, the race is somewhat younger than the Classics at Epsom, but it still has plenty of history.

Aidan O’Brien has been highly successful in training winners for this one, with eight to his name at the time of writing, between 2005 and 2017. You could therefore do worse than simply betting on whatever O’Brien happens to enter, whatever the odds!

Jockey Lester Piggott, meanwhile, rode nine winners of the race over a 30 year period between 1953 and 1983. St Nicholas Abbey is the only horse to have won this one three times, claiming glory in 2011, 2012, and 2013.

Surrey Stakes (Listed), 7f
This seven-furlong race is open to three-year-olds only and though it does not have quite the powers of attraction of some of the other races on the card, it has built a solid following amongst racing punters. One of the trickier races to call, it certainly pays to check out our odds comparison for this one and see where the market is pointing.

Derby Day Betting Highlights
Princess Elizabeth Stakes (Group 3), 1m½f
This Group 3 race run over a distance of a mile and half a furlong is open to fillies and mares aged three years and older. Frankie Dettori has had a lot of success in this one, winning the race six times in total (at the time of writing) between 1999 and 2018.

Epsom Dash Handicap (Class 2), 5f
One of the fastest sprints in flat racing, the Epsom Dash is not one for the fainthearted. At the time of writing the world record for a five-furlong race is 53.69 seconds, which was set in this race in 2012 by Stone Of Folca. The race used to be known as the Night Rider Handicap, though we are not sure if this relates to the 1980s TV show!

With a big field, this fast-paced dash is open to horses aged three years or older. Only one three-year-old has triumphed in the race since 1988, however: Double Quick, who lived up to his name in 1995. At the other end of the age spectrum, an evergreen nine-year-old, Indian Trail, won for David Nicholls in 2009.

Diomed Stakes (Group 3), 1m ½f
Named after the horse who won the very first Derby back in 1780, the Diomed Stakes is open to runners aged three years or older and is run over a distance of a mile and half a furlong. There have been three double winners of the race in its history: All Friends (1975, 1976), Nayyire (2002, 2006), and Blythe Knight (2007, 2008). As with many races at the Derby Festival, Lester Piggott has ridden the most winners in this one, with four to his name.