Espom Derby History
The town of Epsom first became famous for its natural mineral water when a local farmer, Henry Wicker took his cattle up to a watering hole on the Downs in 1618. The alleged healing properties of the water brought crowds from London who wanted to escape the squalor in return for the country air.
1661 saw the first recorded race meeting to be held on the Downs and the tradition continued until the summer of 1780 when one of today's greatest sporting spectacles was established.
Edward Smith Stanley, the 12th Earl of Derby, organised a race for himself and his friends to race their three-year-old fillies over one and a half miles. He named it the Oaks after his estate. The race became so successful that the following year a new race was added for colts and fillies.
The title of the race was decided after the Earl of Derby and Sir Charles Bunbury, a leading racing figure of the day and friend of the Earl's, flipped a coin. So begun the inaugural running of the 'Derby' won, incidentally, by Sir Charles Bunbury's horse Diomed.
The contest was held over a mile with the starting point in a straight line beyond the current five-furlong marker. Tattenham Corner was not introduced until 1784 when the course was extended to its current distance of a mile- and-a-half.
Since then, the race has produced some of the most remarkable stories in all of sport and has been the crowning glory for some of the greatest legends of the game, both human and equine.
Emily Davison
In 1913, for example, a young woman named Emily Davison attended the race. A keen suffragette, Emily dedicated her life to fighting the oppression of women – arguing for the right to vote and equality in law.
To gain publicity, Emily tried to grab the bridle of Anmer, King George V's horse, as it raced past her. Horrifically, she was trampled by the horse, suffering a severely fractured skull. She died without regaining consciousness. Although the suffragettes mourned her loss, they also applauded her bravery. The general public weren't so compassionate though and seemed more concerned with the fate of the horse and jockey, though neither turned out to be seriously hurt.
Emily's actions spurred many more women to act and, in 1918, parliament enfranchised women over the age of 30, eventually lowering the voting age to 21 in 1928, giving women complete political equality with men. Emily's sacrifice also had a big affect on the Derby itself – her legendary action had made the race more famous than ever.
Vincent O’Brien
Vincent O’Brien is arguably the greatest trainer of thoroughbreds there has ever been and his record is simply astonishing.
Initially he concentrated his efforts on jump racing. This led to a string of eye catching successes. These encompassed three consecutive Gold Cups (1948, 1949 and 1950), three consecutive Champion Hurdles (1949, 1950 and 1951) and three consecutive Grand Nationals (1953, 1954 and 1955). He is the only trainer ever to have sent out three consecutive winners of the Grand National, and he won a further Gold Cup in 1953.
In the late 1950's he switched his attentions to the flat and needless to say he met once again with considerable success. By the time he retired he had won sixteen English and twenty seven Irish classics, including six Derbys (Larkspur (1962), Sir Ivor (1968), Nijinsky (1970), Roberto (1972), The Minstrel (1977) and Golden Fleece (1982)).
Lester Piggott
Lester Piggott won the Epsom Derby nine times and became the youngest ever to win the event in 1954 at the tender age of 18.
He rode to victory 5,300 times in more than 30 countries during his 47 years in the saddle. When he was eventually released from prison he came out of retirement and scored a famous victory in the Breeders' Cup Mile in America.
Aged 56, he claimed the 2,000 Guineas in 1992 on Rodrigo de Triano - his 30th British Classic win.
Piggott eventually retired in 1995, although he took part in a special race at the Melbourne Cup meeting in 2001.
Nijinsky (1970)
Trained by the Irish genius Vincent O'Brien, he won all five of his races as a two-year-old and did not let his supporters down in the Derby, recording a stylish victory under the legendary Lester Piggott.
He landed the Irish Derby and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and went on to complete the Triple Crown (2000 Guineas, Derby and St Leger).
He ended his career with two defeats but they could not disguise the glory of his achievements earlier in the year.
Piggott paid him this tribute: "Nijinsky possessed more natural ability than any horse I ever rode".
Mill Reef (1971)
Mill Reef and the equally-brilliant Brigadier Gerard made 1971 a golden year for racing.
Both were outstanding champions in their own right and they remain two of the all-time greats. The "Brigadier" came out on top in the 2000 Guineas but he did not run at Epsom, leaving Mill Reef to make his own indelible mark in the history books.
The better of the pair over the Derby distance of a mile-and-a-half, Mill Reef later added the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in Paris to his impressive portfolio.
Shergar (1981)
Shergar is perhaps even better known these days for his unsolved disappearance than he is for his breathtaking display at Epsom, where he scored by an unprecedented 10 lengths.
After going on to land the Irish Derby and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes, he was sensationally beaten in the St Leger and subsequently retired.
After spending just one season at the Aga Khan's stud in Ireland, he vanished during the night in February 1983 and was never seen again.
The kidnap made front-page news worldwide and before long, conspiracy theories began to circulate. Bogus ransom demands were received on more than one occasion and the kidnappers were said to have left photos of the horse in a hotel as proof that the champion stud was still alive. It was even suggested the IRA had taken the horse and shot him, but to this day, no proof exists as to what really happened.
Shergar's Derby win was named in the Observer's 100 Most Memorable Sporting Moments of the 20th Century.
Willie Carson
Five-time champion jockey Willie Carson won 17 British Classics and 11 Irish Classics in a glittering 34-year riding career.
Carson rode his first Classic winner on High Top in the 1972 2000 Guineas, the year he was crowned champion jockey for the first time and was also champion in 1973, 1978, 1980 and 1983.
Carson won the Derby for the first time on the brilliant colt Troy in the 200th running of the famous Epsom showpiece in 1979 and also won the turf's Blue Riband on Henbit (1980), Nashwan (1989) and Erhaab (1994) and rates Nashwan as the best horse he rode in his illustrious career.
He enjoyed his best season in 1990, riding 187 winners and retired from riding in 1996 at the age of 54. Carson was awarded an OBE in 1983 for services to racing.
Carson is now a very successful breeder and owns the 60-acre Minster Stud at Cirencester in Gloucestershire and was the first jockey to breed a British Classic winner, Minster Son, who he also rode, to win the 1988 St Leger in Lady Beaverbrook's silks.
Carson is fourth in the all-time list of champion flat jockeys in Britain behind Sir Gordon Richards, Lester Piggott and Pat Eddery.