Britain’s richest horse race the Derby returns to Epsom Downs in a couple of weeks and after 236 years it is as popular as ever and steeped in history.

Here are 16 things you should know about the race.

  • This year’s Investec-sponsored Derby Festival is on Friday, June 3, and Saturday, June 4.
  • Last year, Frankie Dettori won his second Derby. His first came after 14 attempts in 2007.
  • The Queen has been attending the Derby for more than 60 years. She attended with her first runner in 1953, just four days after her coronation.
  • This year the Derby will celebrate Her Majesty’s 90th birthday and the Queen will personally present the winner’s prize for the first time during her reign.
  • Friday is Ladies Day and this year the style award will be judged by model, presenter and DJ Vogue Williams, whose style advice is: “Dress like you’re meeting your boyfriend’s parents for the first time.”
  • The Derby was first run on May 4, 1780.
  • Originally, it was run over one mile and it was extended to a mile and a half on 1787. It is now one mile, four furlongs and ten yards or 2,423 metres.
  • The first winner was Diomed, owned by Steward of the Jockey Club Sir Charles Bunbury.
  • It has always been run at Epsom Downs Racecourse apart from during the two World Wars, when it took place at Newmarket.
  • Lester Piggott has won the Derby the most times for a jockey, with nine victories between 1954 (Never Say Die) and 1983 (Teenoso). He was just 18 at the time of his first victory.
  • Shergar won by the biggest margin ever – 10 lengths – in 1981.
  • The fastest horse over the current course was Workforce in 2010 with a time of 2m 31.33s.
  • In 1970, Nijinsky became the 15th and last horse to win racing’s legendary Triple Crown (which also consists of the 2000 Guineas and the St Leger Stakes).
  • Suffragette Emily Davison threw herself in front of the King’s horse at the 1913 Derby.
  • The BBC first broadcast from the Derby in 1927 and regular broadcasts began from 1960.
  • The Derby has one of the biggest prize funds in British racing, with winnings of £1.325 million.

Go to epsomderby.co.uk

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