Let's get ready to rumble! Frank Warren has high hopes for the Derby meeting with more than 60,000 expected at Epsom

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Epsom’s efforts to revive the Derby appear to have paid off, with both days of the meeting sold out in the Grandstand enclosures following last year’s disappointing attendance figures.

Attendance in the paid enclosures on Derby day fell to just 22,312 in 2025, down 41 per cent on the 38,044 recorded in 2019. The Hill, once famous for packed crowds and party atmospheres, was estimated to have attracted only around 4,500 people, while Oaks day attendance dipped to just over 14,000.

Epsom has since launched a major push to rebuild the meeting and more than 60,000 racegoers are expected across the two days this week.

Among the changes introduced are free parking, free entry for under-18s and a new entertainment partnership with Ocean Beach, while “DerbyFest” has been launched on the Hill featuring live music, DJs, food stalls, family activities and big screens showing the racing.

The initiative has involved Queensberry Promotions, the boxing company run by Frank Warren. He helped conduct the Derby draw at the Peninsula Hotel in London on Wednesday alongside England's World Cup winner Sir Geoff Hurst.

The glitzy ceremony marked a far cry from two years ago when the draw took place outside a Wetherspoons pub.

Warren said: “In some ways it’s new ground for us, but we are promoters, that’s what we do for a living. We’re used to delivering massive world-class events that are broadcast around the world, so getting involved in horseracing is fabulous for us.

“The Derby means a lot to me. I remember it being absolutely chock-a-block. It was mobbed and that’s what we want to bring back. We want to bring back that great day out, that atmosphere and that fun day for everybody.”

Jim Allen speaking at the Derby draw the The Peninsula hotel in LondonCredit: John Hoy/The Jockey Club

Epsom general manager Jim Allen said he was delighted by the response after last year’s figures, but said this was only the beginning of a five-year plan to make the Derby even better.

He said: “It’s fantastic after last year’s Derby to see the sold-out signs going up for the grandstand.

“On the Hill we’ve had over 25,000 registrations for DerbyFest and between 5,000 and 10,000 for the Community Zone. There aren’t many places you can go and watch top-class sport for free, but up on the Hill you can."

Allen added there had been a significant increase in younger racegoers attending the meeting.

He said: “Exactly why they’re booking and coming, we don’t know, but we’ll find out I’m sure. Some are coming for Ocean Beach, but if it gets them in the door hopefully we’ll turn some of those into racing fans."

Kevin Blake at the Derby draw

James J Braddock's owner Kevin Blake was among those disappointed by last year’s Derby atmosphere. However, he believes the changes made are a major step in the right direction.

He said: “It really is the greatest race in the world. I was there last year and I felt what everyone else felt, it didn’t feel like the occasion we all know it can be.

“Everything they’re doing seems to be working well. We’re all pushing in the same direction. We want to get the Derby back to the place it was not so long ago and I think we can do that.”

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