Derby Day switch?

C

Colin Phillips

At the Start
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
13,268
Location
Talbot Green
Story on BBC website:

The 2012 Epsom Derby could be moved from its scheduled Saturday slot to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
Lord Mandelson has announced workers will get an extra day off on Tuesday 5 June to mark the monarch's 60 years on the throne.
He said the late May bank holiday would be switched to Monday 4 June as part of the four-day weekend celebrations.
Epsom managing director Rupert Trevelyan told BBC Sport that changing the Derby date was a possibility.
"All I can say is we are discussing things. We haven't ruled anything in or out," he said.
"It's a big opportunity and the Queen has a close bond with the Derby."
The Queen attended the famous Epsom meeting in her coronation year of 1953, when legendary jockey Sir Gordon Richards dashed her dream of winning the Derby.
Richards finally landed the blue riband of horse racing at the 28th attempt - just days after he had been knighted.
The 26-time champion won the 1953 Derby aboard Pinza, beating the Queen's horse Aureole into second, at the height of Her Majesty's coronation celebrations.
At that time, the Derby held in its traditional slot of the first Wednesday in June.

But in recent years the race has taken place on a Saturday in an effort to reach a wider international audience.
Trevelyan said the Queen, who owns a string of racehorses, attends the Derby every year in a private capacity.
"At this stage we're only a couple of days in since Lord Mandelson made his announcement," he added.
"We've had initial discussions and have a little bit of time before we make a decision and there are lots of people we need to talk to.
"The first people to contact are the Queen's connections because she may well have plans already, then there's race planning issues as well.
"We are proud of our connection with the Queen and believe recent runnings of the Derby have reaffirmed its place as the greatest Flat race in the world."
Record-breaking racehorse Sea The Stars won the Epsom Classic in 2009 as the middle leg of an unprecedented treble which also included the 2000 Guineas and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
When the idea of a Derby on the Jubilee Bank Holiday was raised by BBC Sport with top trainer Mark Johnston on Wednesday, he welcomed the idea.
"I wouldn't be against it. So much more could be done to promote horse racing," he said.
The Royal Family has a long association with horse racing and Epsom racecourse.
In her Silver Jubilee year of 1977, the Queen's filly Dunfermline won the Oaks under Willie Carson.
The Queen came to the throne on 6 February 1952 and her Coronation took place on 2 June 1953.
As part of her diamond jubilee celebrations, the Queen has granted Royal borough status to Greenwich in London, which is where her granddaughter Zara Phillips will go for equestrian gold at the 2012 Olympic Games.
 
A good idea. Marry the idea of the country's most important horse race with an event that (regardless of your views on the Monarchy) is so important as to get a day off work.
 
Looking forward to one of the big three bookmakers offering comedy short odds about her owning the 2012 Derby winner.
 
As an aside, Mike Cattermole tries to argue in favour of switching the Derby back to the Wednesday. I quite like MC but this idea smacks of conservatism rather than doing something positive about changing the face of racing for the better.
 
Desert Orchid said:
As an aside, Mike Cattermole tries to argue in favour of switching the Derby back to the Wednesday. I quite like MC but this idea smacks of conservatism rather than doing something positive about changing the face of racing for the better.
Click to expand...

Agreed....is moving it because of the Queens occasion in itself not doing a bit of damage...keeping the idea of racing in that bracket?
 
If they can get her to turn up at Epsom i'd say it would be a very good thing because it will undoubtedly increase press coverage of the event.

Hopefully St Nick will put in a scintillating display and capture some imaginations.
 
If Epsom want to do something positive with this meeting, they'd move the Oaks to a Friday night meeting as suggested by someone on here over the Summer (Gareth?) rather than marrying the aristocracy with racing even more. I'm pretty indifferent to the monarchy but they have Royal Ascot and that is more than enough.
 
I say go for it - a great way of bringing more publicity to the Derby and especially appropriate for celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Then can we permanently move the race back to Wednesday, please?
 
Agree to move it as a one off would be an excellent move and would give racing a chance to be the central part of celebrations were the Queen to attend.

Shadow Leader - What benfits do you think racing would gain from bringing the Derby back to a Wednesday?
 
I think that it would bring a lot more publicity to the Derby were it to be run again on a Wednesday. A far as I'm concerned, I think that the race being run on a Wednesday is more likely to get publicity as it will be the day's main sporting event rather than just another Saturday sporting event.
 
Moving the Derby back to a Wednesday might just be enough to turn me away from British racing. It would be a retrograde step unless it were a national holiday.

The whole idea is anathema to widening the appeal of the sport.

The Wednesday Derby was impossible to see if you worked outside racing. It was a strictly south-south-east affair with the rest of us left out. That was never good.

It's bad enough that Royal Ascot and Cheltenham are midweek but with them being four and five days (and the quality diluted accordingly) they just about get away with it.
 
Don't be so daft - what, you'd do nothing but bet on Irish, US and Australian markets? You've spent half your grown life working out your own ratings on hundreds of 'British' horses, ffs. Just switching a race back to the day you used to bet on it anyway would mean you'd drop all Scottish, N. Irish, Welsh and English racing? You're avinalarf. It'd last about three days before you couldn't help yourself.
 
I'd probably stick to G1s in Ireland and France.

Remember I only bet on terrestrial TV races worth £20k+ (usually only on Saturdays) as it is so it wouldn't be much to give up on. I've cut down a lot on the amount of form study I do as it is and I've certainly cut out almost entirely drawing up ratings tables for the races I do. I stopped subscribing to Raceform at the close of the Flat turf season and don't intend going back.

As retirement approaches, I don't find it hard to envisage doing what my father did at a slightly younger age than me. When he was about 50 he gave up punting entirely. Never even had a bet on the National after he made his decision.

I'd probably take up golf or bowls.
 
Last edited:
I see - you really have been slimming down your involvement in that case. But will you be able to resist betting on the Masters if you take up Scotland's finest game?
 
I can probably count on both hands the number of golf bets I've had in my life. Most have been on Tiger Woods!
 
Back
Top