The 1781 Epsom Derby was the second running of The

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

- the

horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

known as the "greatest turf event in the world". It took place on 24 May 1781 on

Epsom Downs Epsom Downs is an area of chalk downland, chalk upland near Epsom, Surrey; in the North Downs. Part of the area is taken up by the Epsom Downs Racecourse, racecourse, the gallops are part of the land purchased by Stanly Wootton in 1925 and are ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, England, and was won by

Young Eclipse Young Eclipse (1778 – c. 1803) was a Thoroughbred racehorse that won the 1781 Epsom Derby. He raced until he was six years old, winning seven races and retiring to stud in 1785. He was not a successful sire. Background Young Eclipse was f ...

, owned by gambler

Dennis O'Kelly Dennis O'Kelly (1725–1787), born in Connacht, Ireland, was a prominent 18th-century owner and breeder of thoroughbred racehorses. He owned Eclipse, the pre-eminent sire of the breed and ancestor of 95% of modern thoroughbreds, and from ...

and ridden by Charles Hindley. The previous year,

Lord Derby Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869, known before 1834 as Edward Stanley, and from 1834 to 1851 as Lord Stanley) was a British statesman, three-time Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ...

had instigated a race at

Epsom Racecourse Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse on the hills associated with Epsom in Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course, which has a crowd capacity of 13 ...

for three-year-old horses, the name of which had been decided on a coin toss between Derby and Sir Charles Bunbury, a member of the

Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs and both the Rowley Mile and July Course in Newmarket, amo ...

(although it may have been that Bunbury deferred to Derby, who was his host at the time). The race was over 1 mile (although in 1784 that would be increased to 1 mile 4 furlongs, the distance it has been ever since). The 1780 race had been won by Bunbury's horse

Diomed Diomed, foaled in 1777, was an English Thoroughbred race horse who won 1780 Epsom Derby, the inaugural running of Epsom Derby, the Derby in 1780. He was subsequently a successful sire in the United States. Racing years A bright chestnut standin ...

, which was the favourite, beating Boudrow, owned by Dennis O'Kelly. In this second running of the race, it was O'Kelly who had the winner,

, another colt by the pre-eminent sire of the day,

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...

. He beat

Sir John Lade Sir John Lade, 2nd Baronet (1 August 1759 – 10 February 1838) was a prominent member of Regency society, notable as an owner and breeder of racehorses, as an accomplished driver, associated with Samuel Johnson's circle, and one of George ...

's Crop who was much the more fancied of the runners, going off 5/4 favourite.

Race details

* Winner's prize money: £1,312 10s * Going: ''not known'' * Number of runners: 14 or 15 * Winner's time: ''not known''

Full result

Winner details

Further details of the winner, Young Eclipse: * Foaled: 1778 * Sire:

* Dam:

Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods *Juno (film), ''Juno'' (film), 2007 Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, in the film ''Jenny, Juno'' *Ju ...

Spectator ''Spectator'' or ''The Spectator'' may refer to: *Spectator sport, a sport that is characterized by the presence of spectators, or watchers, at its matches *Audience Publications Canada * ''The Hamilton Spectator'', a Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, ...

* Owner:

* Breeder:

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * {{Epsom Derby

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...

1781 18th century in Surrey 1781 in English sport