Epsom Downs is a Grade 1

racecourse A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...

on the hills associated with

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

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 which is used for

thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the

North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills a ...

. The course, which has a crowd capacity of 130,000 when taking into account people watching from the

Epsom Downs Epsom Downs is an area of chalk upland near Epsom, Surrey; in the North Downs. Part of the area is taken up by the racecourse, the gallops are part of the land purchased by Stanly Wootton in 1925 and are open to users such as ramblers, model ...

, an area freely available to the public, is best known for hosting the Derby Stakes, which has come to be widely referred to as The Derby or as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, the United Kingdom's premier

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

horse race for three-year-old colts and

fillies A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

, over a mile and a half (2400 m). It also hosts the Oaks Stakes (also widely referred to as The Oaks) for three-year-old fillies, and the

Coronation Cup The Coronation Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards (2 ...

for horses aged four years and upwards. All three races are Group 1 races and run over the same course and distance. The Chairman of the course since 2015 is Julia Budd. The course is owned by the Jockey Club. The

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

has attended 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 g ...

most years.

History

The first recorded race was held on the Downs in 1661, although a local burial list of 1625 refers to "William Stanley who in running the race fell from his horse and brake his neck" and in some sources racing is recorded as dating from the 1640s, so it is likely that racing was established much earlier than that. Epsom is referenced in the

diary A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...

of Samuel Pepys in 1663 and Charles II is said to have been a racegoer there. By 1684, Epsom had a

clerk of the course A clerk of the course is an official in various types of racing. Horse racing In horse racing, the clerk of the course is the person responsible for track management and raceday preparation at a racecourse. Important tasks of the role include: ...

and from 1730 was hosting twice yearly race meetings. At Epsom on 3 May 1769 the famous racehorse Eclipse had the first of his many victories in an undefeated career on the turf. In the summer of 1779 Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby, organised a race for himself and his friends to race their three-year-old

. He named it the Oaks after his nearby estate. The race became so successful that in the following year 1780 a new race was added for three-year-old colts and fillies—- the Derby. In 1784 the course was extended to its current distance of a mile and a half and

Tattenham Corner Tattenham Corner is in north Surrey, UK, the name is principally associated with Epsom Racecourse. The railway station of the same name is in the Tattenhams ward of Reigate and Banstead Borough. Location Tattenham Corner refers to the sharp ...

was introduced.

Henry Dorling Henry Dorling (died 20 March 1873) was the first Clerk of the course at Epsom Downs Racecourse and cookery writer Mrs Beeton's stepfather. Dorling's father was a bookseller in Epsom, and Henry was apprenticed to a printer, returning to Epsom in 1 ...

, step-father to cookery writer

Mrs Beeton Isabella Mary Beeton ( Mayson; 14 March 1836 – 6 February 1865), known as Mrs Beeton, was an English journalist, editor and writer. Her name is particularly associated with her first book, the 1861 work ''Mrs Beeton's Book of Household ...

, was a Clerk of the Course at Epsom, appointed in 1840. In 1913 the suffragette

Emily Davison Emily Wilding Davison (11 October 1872 – 8 June 1913) was an English suffragette who fought for votes for women in Britain in the early twentieth century. A member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) and a militant figh ...

threw herself in front of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

's horse Anmer, bringing him down. Davison was badly injured and died four days later. In 1952 the racecourse was featured extensively in the film '' Derby Day'' set around the 1952 Epsom Derby. In 2009 the racecourse opened the new Duchess's Stand. It has a capacity of 11,000 and has a 960 m² (10 000 sq ft) hall. It can be used for banqueting, conferences and exhibitions. The estimated cost of the new stand, which was built by

Willmott Dixon Willmott Dixon is a privately owned contracting, residential development and property support business. History The company was founded in 1852, by John Willmott.Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...

honeymoon, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and his wife,

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge Catherine, Princess of Wales, (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne, making Catherine the likely next ...

(along with

the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

, William's brother,

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succ ...

, and Catherine's parents, Michael and Carole Middleton) attended the 2011 Epsom Derby at the track. In 2022 the main stand of the racecourse, previously been known as The Queen’s Stand, was renamed the Queen Elizabeth II Stand.

Description

The racecourse is between

Tadworth Tadworth is a large suburban village in Surrey, England in the south-east of the Epsom Downs, part of the North Downs. It forms part of the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. At the 2011 census, Tadworth (and Walton-on-the-Hill) had a population o ...

and

Langley Vale Langley Vale is a village in the Borough of Epsom and Ewell, in Surrey, England, approximately south of central London. As its name suggests, the village is in a dry valley between Epsom Downs and Walton Downs. Historically part of the Ash ...

. As it is in a public area, people can watch the Derby free, and this meant that the Derby used to be the most attended sporting event of the year. It presents a stern challenge for inexperienced horses and a true test of stamina for those that might previously have contested the 2,000 Guineas Stakes over a mile (1600 m). Unusually, the racecourse is not a circuit but is roughly "U"-shaped with chutes for the start of sprint races over five, six and seven furlongs. The Derby course features an ascent to the top of the hill followed by a wide, sweeping left turn (

) as the horses descend towards the straight. The half-mile straight is mainly downhill, with a final sharp ascent in the last hundred yards. The predominantly downhill nature of the straight means that times for the sprint races tend to be much faster than those on flatter tracks. Clockings for the five-furlong course have included 53.6 s (hand-timed) by Indigenous in 1960 and 53.70 s (electrically-timed) by Spark Chief in 1983. Epsom Downs houses the third largest racehorse training facility in the country. The facility is managed by the Epsom trainers society. There are 11 trainers who use the facility, including Simon Dow and Laura Mongan (the only female trainer at Epsom). The area is served by the

Epsom Downs railway line The Epsom Downs Branch is a railway line in the United Kingdom. The line runs from Sutton to Epsom Downs and is about long. The line starts at Sutton in the London Borough of Sutton. It is double track for about until it reaches the approa ...

as well as

Tattenham Corner railway station Tattenham Corner railway station is in Surrey, in England. The station and all trains serving it are operated by Southern, and it is the terminus of the Tattenham Corner Line. It is from . It lies on the outskirts of Epsom and is the closes ...

, which is where

alights from the British Royal Train on race days.

Notable races

;Other races * Epsom Dash

Gallery

References

Bibliography

External links

Official siteCourse guide on GG.COMCourse guide on At The Races
{{Epsom Derby Epsom and Ewell Horse racing venues in England Sports venues in Surrey Sports venues completed in 1661 1661 establishments in England