No turning back: Epsom insists Saturday Derby is key to race's future prosperity

Epsom has reacted to calls, including those by Pricewise tipster Tom Segal in his Racing Post Weekender column, to move the Derby back to its previous Wednesday slot by insisting that Saturday is key to the premier Classic’s continued health in terms of sponsorship and television coverage.

Segal urged Epsom to reconsider its choice of day to stage the world’s most famous Flat race after pictures in Tuesday’s Racing Post illustrated how last weekend’s Derby day crowd on the hill – the area in the centre of the course that once used to be packed with people – was significantly lower than eight years ago.

Simon Durrant, general manager at Epsom, said: “The Investec Derby on the first Saturday in June is consistently one of the UK’s busiest events and among the most watched sports events on UK television.

“We are proud that racing regularly has four of the top ten most-attended sports events in Britain, including the Investec Derby, with Saturday free-to-air broadcast coverage allowing the maximum number of people to watch and listen live to one of our crown jewels.

“It’s a global event and we saw record levels of interest in some countries this year, evidenced for example in Hong Kong, where they bet the most on any British raceday ever. We enjoyed coverage from 30 international broadcasters from the USA to Japan, where it has been made clear this is only possible on a Saturday.

“Despite a unique set of domestic circumstances in 2019, we were able to grow the crowds in our ticketed enclosures and, as always, we will review our promotional activity and find fresh ways to promote the event next year.”

Many Londoners used to take the opportunity of having a day off in midweek by attending the Derby – it was widely perceived as “the people's race” – and hundreds of open-top buses and coaches used to pack the centre of the track.

Locals felt a great sense of pride that the Derby was contested on their doorstep and parties would often be held before and after the great race.

'Showout Sunday', which saw many people gather on the Downs on the Sunday before the race to enjoy all the fun of the fair, was hugely popular.

However, over the last 40 years or so Epsom has increasingly become a commuter belt and perhaps that sense of pride has been lost. Durrant believes it is not possible to recapture the Wednesday glory days.

“Wednesday is part of the Derby’s history,” he said. “It worked well in a bygone era, but the event went into steep decline after Parliament started to sit on that day and workers lost their stolen day off.

“Twenty-five years ago we moved a loss-making event that was struggling for a sponsor to its Saturday slot to give the Derby a sustainable future.

“With a fantastic partner in Investec, millions of people engaging with the two-day festival and the Investec Derby itself continuing to define the thoroughbred breed, I’m very sure the future is bright for what Aidan O’Brien describes as our sport’s Holy Grail.”

What Tom Segal said in his Weekender column

Moving the Derby to a Saturday has been an unmitigated disaster. It has gone from being a flagship day for racing to the seventh slot on the news behind nearly every other sport happening on the day. Not long ago the start time was switched to half-time during a friendly match between England and that mighty football superpower of Jamaica!

The Cheltenham Festival continues to thrive during the week, as does Royal Ascot, and I simply cannot see one benefit that has come from moving the most famous Flat race to a Saturday.

People can talk about TV rights, but looking at the attendance and viewing figures it’s pretty clear that no more people are watching it and the Epsom Downs are virtually empty compared to when the race was on a Wednesday.

We all know that racing doesn’t have the amount of fans it used to have and no-one is expecting the Derby to get back to where it once was, but switching it back to a Wednesday is surely worth considering.

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