The Derby

The problem appears to be if you run the Derby on a saturday you will get a weekend crowd but outside of racing no one will notice. Especially if the England mens football team are playing. Which is often the case.
If you run it midweek then you wont get the tv audience or the spectators.

Personally I feel the BHA need to go all in on the Derby.
The way the Americans promote their version ought to be a blueprint.
The Derby is about the only UK flat race people know about. At home and overseas. You are never going to get a wider audience for Champions Day for example.
So concentrate on Epsom and the rest will take care of themselves, as far as the top end of racing goes.

What? A bank holiday for a race that has been for the last 15 years, and still is dominated by Coolmore, the near monopolistic horseracing entity in the UK and Ireland? The present Derby is nothing like The Derby of old. Now, it's only a race lauded and celebrated by supporters and racegoers of horseracing; The Derby used to be a well-planned, well-attended, well-betted (only 2nd to the Grand National) and looked forward to by even the non-racing enthusiasts.

Now, even the locals are dreading it to an extent eg the non-social abiding and lager louts; the inconsiderate bad car parkers; the litter louts; the noise. Thank goodness, it's not a festival like Cheltenham where the hotels, restaurants and eateries charge a bomb than normal.

Wortest Derby ever run ffs,fact.

worse was Camelots imho

I genuinely cannot even remember Camelot winning. Either I was out of the country or too busy to be involved with his Derby. And, having 'googled' I still cannot remember taking part. I can remember Australia though; I listened to the radio commentary on the way to Hackney. I think I was about to cross London Bridge just outside Borough Market.

Well notwithstanding the objections to the honourable citizens of Epsom, I do feel the Derby is an event that the horseracing world ought to get behind and promote.
Ending the dominance of Coolmore would be key to getting the race back onto the front pages, so to speak. Shouldnt be beyond the wit of man to come up with some sort of a system.
We have seen with Lion of Winter that Aidan does struggle to get his 3yos fit for the classics, on occasion.

The States have a long build up to Churchill Downs, beginning in January with win-and-your-in trials and points accumulation.
The All-Weather tracks could be used to good effect for this. Also that dead perioid between the Lincoln and the Craven meeting. In fact the Lincoln meet needs a classic trial imho.
Maybe with a battle hardened group of British 3yos AOB wmight not be cleaning up in the derby trials as he has done this year.

One and a half mile race at Epsom……spark died long ago tbf.

why would you take on an AOB runner 1st time out when like Beckett you can ring BHA up and get them to put on and pay you for a public gallop

I still enjoy derby day admittedly not as much as I use to and there’s nothing wrong with the opening posters suggestion to give Wednesday a go again .

Impossible

That borough market you mentioned and we spoke about unfortunately it is closed on a Monday so I will not be able to visit ,hopefully another time

My point is that if racing wants to be relevant and reach out to a wider audience then it has to exploit what its got going for it.
Which is the tradition of races like the Epsom Derby.
You are not going to knock football off the back pages with Champions day, all weather finals day or spending 3.5m on a marketing campaign.

There can be no doubt that the Kentucky Derby and even the Breeders Cup are exploited to the maximum by the Americans to keep its product relevant.
Bullsh!t walks and money talks over there.
The other way round over here.

US Racing is only kept going by slot junkies.

'jimnast', that's a shame. I did not realise it shut on monday either. You'd look at the pics for what's on offer there. As I said previously, it's a foodie paradise. It caters for everyone.

Ed chamberlain been having a bed wetting session for last 8 weeks about a quality coronation stakes
5 days out
8 runners 4 to 7 fav
3 rags
and 4 in between that hardly set the pulse racing and unknowns to maj of ITV viewers

The Wednesday derby,like royal ascot,Wimbledon,lords test being the 2nd test.

Is all geared to the debutant season.when the lords brought their daughters to London ,to get them married off.

Basically,everyone hibernated in the winter on the estates,then came into London for some spring pleasure and to be seen.on the social calendars.
In later years,this was after the end of the tax year,when companies relaxed winding down for the summer.

Midweek worked,because,they could sell corporate days,
No one wants a freebie in their own time,they want a day off work as well.

The move away from this ,is chasing the masses,as companies,landed gentry don’t all do this anymore.

1ST TIME POSTER, ED wets himself about every upcoming race, hed have sea the stars, dancing brave, miesque , dayjur all meeting up in the ascot gold cup , 

,

looking for Melbourne cup pointers

loved that post comingupthehill, but one thing i have to admit ive followed test cricket since the 70s , and are you saying the 2test of a series is always lords , i never knew that !

As a Reading Univ student in the 1960s I was in lodgings and the husband of the lady who ran it was a retired Chauffeur who had worked for the Joel family. They spent much of the year in the West Indies but came to England for the "season" which was Epsom, Henley, Royal Ascot, Wimbledon and Goodwood. All of which were mainly midweek activities and lasted most of a week or two. They were separated by weeks for "recovery" in the 1950s so my informant said it was Epsom-miss a week, Ascot miss a week etc. Then after Goodwood they went back to the Caribbean. At their peak, Solly and Jim Joel were very prominent owners. Jim Joel had no family so Maori Venture would have been the last of his big wins but Royal Palace and Main Reef on the flat and Buona Notte and The Laird (second in Gold Cup) among others over fences. Solly Joel had family including Mrs Rogerson who with her husband owned Salmon Spray and Pas Seul winners of the Champion hurdle and Gold Cup respectively as well as other very good chasers trained by Bob Turnell such as Charter Flight and Cuckolder.

The Spring Bank Holiday (the last Monday in May) is probably a week or two too early for the Derby, and the next one is not till August which is far too late so that idea is a non-starter.

It is probably also too late to move the Derby back to Wednesday. All the old workplace traditions around sweepstakes and buses to Epsom are long forgotten. So that's a non-starter as well.

Racing's fundamental problem has always been that it leaps on any idea for change, convinced that "one last heave" will capture the hearts of the nation. We see this now with yet another multi-million pound marketing campaign, and yet another attempt at turning racing into a team sport.

I think 2 weeks or 10 days post the Spring Bank holiday in May (26th this year) is workable for most; the old workplace traditions around sweepstakes (not altogether a necessity) and buses to Epsom (easily reintroduced) could be a goer too.

I agree the racing fundamental problem with horseracing is it leaps on any idea for change regardless eg the newly allocated £3.6m fund to entice/encourage/promote new attendees to horseracing through advertising is a non-starter to begin with. It did not tackle the source of the decline; horseracing is not a business - it's a sport thus throwing scarce finance on advertising is the wrong panacea. The most prudent and likely solution would be to ask the racegoers, trainers and jockeys and punters.

A correct identification of the weaknesses/achille heel is of the utmost importance, then apply the most suitable solution or a set of viable policies (excluding bookies) to improve the present predicament; bokkies have their own interests at heart, and they are not horseracing/racegoers/punters conducive.

who the fook would have a go in a sweep with an odds on/short priced fav,unless your backing sed fav you might as well put your 2,5,10 quid sweepstake on a horse you fancy /name you like down at the bookies,punted for over 50 years ben in 100+ national sweep,been to epsom,never ever had a go or offered a go in A DERBY SWEEP,even when 40 yrs ago surrounded by 30 workmates who lived and breathed racing racing 24/7,52 weeks a yr

£85 for Tatts. (80 Friday) They even want £30 for the Tattenham Corner enclosure. £45 infield stretch

enclosure. Target customers: Corporate and City types, the rest can go to hell!

ed,s 6 week bedwett about races of the ages for coronation cup
7 runners ew 1st 2
8 to 13 fav
3 rags