Everything you need to know about the Derby

What is at stake The Investec Derby (Group 1), complete with £1,623,900 in prize-money, making it Britain's richest race.

What it's all about The Derby is the traditional test to crown the best middle distance horse of its generation. The winner does not only pick up a £920,913.69 purse and earn their place in history, but is also all but guaranteed a lucrative career at stud as a stallion.

As the Italian breeder Frederico Tesio once said: "The Thoroughbred exists not because its selection has depended on experts, technicians or zoologists but one piece of wood: the winning post of the Epsom Derby."

How does it work Up to 20 horses will line up 1m4f6y from that piece of wood - that's just over a mile and a half, or 2,419.5 meters - and then race to the line.

Who's involved The Derby is the most prestigious of the five Classics - a series of races for the best three-year-olds. This year's race is only open to colts (entire males, geldings cannot run) and fillies (females) foaled in 2014. Fillies do have the option of running against their own sex in the Oaks - also a Group 1 over the same course and distance run a day earlier.

Walter Swinburn and Shergar pass the EPsom winning post ten lengths in front of the fieldCredit: Bob Martin

History Inaugurated in 1780, it is the world's original Derby. It is a name that has been copied around the world - the Kentucky Derby, Irish Derby, Australian Derby and Hong Kong Derby to name a few - but it is the Epsom version, named after the original host of the party, the 12th Earl of Derby, which was the original.

From its first winner Diomed (after whom another race at Epsom is named) to the dead-heat between Harvester and St Gatien in 1884, Suffragette Emily Davison dying four days after stepping in front of King George V's Anmer in the 1913 renewal, to its first televised broadcast in 1927 by the BBC, through Lester Piggott's record nine wins as a jockey, Shergar's ten-length success in 1981 and his subsequent kidnap, Workforce's course record 2m31.33s in 2010 and Aidan O'Brien becoming the first trainer to win three consecutive Derbys with Australia in 2014, it is a race with a fascinating and storied history.

The course Much of what makes the Derby so iconic is the course over which it is run. It is not just that it is close to London or that the infield is public land and thus free to stand on so everyone can attend - 154,000 did so over the two days last year - but the track itself. It is a supreme test for a thoroughbred.

From the gate they race uphill, sweeping right, then cross over and turn sharp left on a downhill off-camber bend that can find out all but the best-balanced horses. Then there's the small matter of getting a gap, Epsom's long straight and a final half furlong that rises.

Betting Course winner Cracksman is the 9-2 favourite from Aidan O'Brien's Cliffs Of Moher at 5-1, 7-1 shot Eminent, Best Solution, and 11-1 chance, Permian and Capri at 12-1, 14-1 hope Venice Beach and 16-1 poke Dubai Thunder. It is 25-1 bar, with Diore Lia the 1,500-1 controversial outsider.

Tickets For those looking to go, tickets are still available at £65 for the grandstand enclosure and £135 for the Queen's stand. The famous hill, this year labelled the Poundland Hill for the first time, is free for all racegoers, as it always has been.

Travel Tattenham Corner (half a mile from the course, trains from London Bridge and Victoria) and Epsom (two miles uphill from the course, trains from Waterloo and Victoria) are the two nearest train stations. For those driving, the course is two miles south of the town on the B290 Tadworth Road. From the M25 it is junction eight or nine. For international visitors, the track is 30 minutes from Gatwick and 40 minutes from Heathrow.

TV If you can't make it to the track, ITV will be showing the first five races on Derby and Oaks day, with the Ed Chamberlin-fronted coverage starting at 1.30pm, while on Saturday there will also be The Opening Show from 9.25am. All 14 races will also be shown on Racing UK.