Held in early June each year at Epsom racecourse, betting on the Epsom Derby is always one of the highlights in the British horse racing calendar. The Epsom Derby Festival will run on 4th June 2022.
The two-day Epsom Derby Festival is spearheaded by the Epsom Derby and the Epsom Oaks, with betting on both the races attracting the more recreational horse racing punters too.
Both races are run over a trip of 1m4f and for 3 year-old horses only. The Epsom Oaks is for fillies, while the Epsom Derby is mainly for colts. Having said that, fillies can run in the Epsom Derby, but the Oaks, and running against their own sex, is often the preferred option for the female horses.
Betting on the Epsom Oaks, which is always now run on a Friday, is the highlight on day one of the Epsom Derby Festival, with the Epsom Derby run the following day (Saturday).
The Epsom Dash and Coronation Cup are other feature races at the Epsom Derby Festival each year. To get information about the World’s major horse racing events to bet on, read our page dedicated to horse racing betting.
| Bookmakers | Epsom Derby Betting | Visit bookmaker |
|---|---|---|
bet365 | Check the bookmaker’s site | |
Ladbrokes | Check the bookmaker’s site | |
Unibet | Check the bookmaker’s site |
Epsom Derby Odds
Most of the leading bookmakers will have ante-post Epsom Derby odds many months before the race is due to run.
The Epsom Derby and Epsom Oaks are only for horses aged 3 years-olds. Therefore, the top two-year-old races that are run the season before – like the Group One Vertum Futurity Trophy run at Doncaster in October – are often races that impact the Epsom Derby betting markets over the winter months.
Once the new flat turf season starts around March, there are various other trial races – like the Lingfield Oaks and Derby trials, plus the York Dante Stakes that will change the Epsom Derby betting market once run. In 2019 both the Lingfield Derby and Oaks trial winners (staged in May) went onto land the actual Epsom Derby and Oaks later that season.
You can expect to see the Epsom Derby and Epsom Oaks betting odds in the ante-post section on most of the leading bookmakers sites. During the winter months these Epsom Derby odds won’t change a great deal as the potential runners won’t be in action until around April/May time – a few months before the Epsom Derby and Oaks are run.
The 1,000 Guineas and 2,000 Guineas, that are run in May are often good guides to the Epsom Derby and Oaks, with horses that ran well in these two English Classics often targeted at the Epsom Derby and Oaks soon after. The last horse to win both the Epsom Derby and 2,000 Guineas in the same season was Camelot in 2012.
While the last horse to win the 1,000 Guineas and Epsom Oaks in the same season was recently in 2020 when a horse called Love won both races.
Then, once the Epsom Derby day draws nearer and the bookmakers and punters have a better idea of the final runners, then the Epsom Derby betting market gets a lot more popular.
In terms of Epsom Derby favourites – the last market leader to win the Epsom Derby was Golden Horn in 2015, while since 2002 we’ve seen six Epsom Derby favourites win the race.
At this stage the Aidan O’Brien-trained High Definition head the Epsom Derby betting with a lot of bookmakers – he’ll be looking to give trainer Aidan O’Brien his nineth Epsom Derby winner.
While the Epsom Oaks betting is currently headed by a horse called Santa Barbara, who is another exciting-looking prospect from the Aidan O’Brien yard.
Epsom Derby Festival Runners
With the Epsom Derby and Epsom Oaks, both races are open for only 3 year-olds, meaning we have a new batch of Epsom Derby runners each season – basically no horse can win the Epsom Oak or Epsom Derby more than once!
Trainer Aidan O’Brien is always a handler to note in both the Epsom Derby and Epsom Oaks – he’s won the Epsom Derby and Epsom Oaks eight times each.
You can expect the Aidan O’Brien yard to have many runners in the Epsom Derby each year, but anything that his main stable jockey – Ryan Moore – rides is often regraded as this main hope.
However, he’s no stranger to winning the Epsom Derby with one of this so-called second or third choices in the race.
In 2020 this proved the case again as the Emmet McNamara-ridden Serpentine lead all the way to win the Epsom Derby at odds of 25/1. This was one of six Epsom Derby runners in the 2020 race for trainer Aidan O’Brien and he had five of the first eight finishers.
O’Brien can be expected to be mob-handed again in the 2022 Epsom Derby and at this stage has several of the leading ante-post favourites in the Epsom Derby betting with High Definition, St Marks Basilica, Wembley and Battleground.
Epsom Derby Festival Tips
In the build-up to the race, there are many Epsom Derby Festival tips for both the Epsom Oaks and the Epsom Derby.
Both races are classed as English Classics, of which there are five races – the others being the 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas and the St Leger. The 1,000 and 2,000 are staged before the Epsom Derby and Oaks, with the St Leger not run until September.
With the Newmarket 1,000 & 2,000 Guineas both being run before the Epsom Oaks and the Epsom Derby, these races have provided horse racing fans with many Epsom Derby Festival tips over the years. Horses that ran well in the 1,000 Guineas often head to the Epsom Oaks, while horses that fared well in the 2,000 Guineas can often be seen running in the Epsom Derby just a month later.
Other Epsom Derby tips to look for are that an Irish trainer has won the race 8 times in the last 10 runnings, while 17 of the last 19 Epsom Derby winners finished first or second in their last race.
Previous Epsom Trainers and Winners
The Epsom Oaks is open to 3 year-old fillies and in recent times it’s a race that’s been dominated by trainers Aidan O’Brien and John Gosden – they’ve won ALL of the last seven runnings between them.
Other Epsom Oaks tips to note are that ALL of the last 19 winners had run in the last 5 weeks, while 16 of the last 19 Epsom Oaks winners had finished first or second in their previous race.
When looking at the Epsom Derby tips, with five Epsom Derby wins trainer Sir Michael Stoute runners can’t be overlooked. The same can be said for trained Aidan O’Brien, who has won the Epsom Derby a massive eight times, including the last three renewals – O’Brien has also won the Epsom Oaks eight times.
Other Epsom Derby betting tips to have on your radar are that 18 of the last 19 Epsom Derby winners ran in the last 5 weeks, while 16 of the last 19 had won a Group race before, while despite having a 25/1 Epsom Derby winner in the race in 2020, a massive 16 of the last 19 successful horses returned 7/1 or shorter in the Epsom Derby betting market.
Epsom Derby Betting Trends
If you’re looking to find the winner at the Epsom Derby Festival, then using key Epsom Derby and Epsom Oaks betting trends can often be a big help.
Once you know the final Epsom Derby and Oaks runners (2 days before the race) it’s easier to apply the main Epsom Derby betting trends (see below) to the horses we know will be racing.
This will help whittle down the Epsom Derby Festival runners and find the best profile of past Epsom Derby winners.
Recent Epsom Oaks Winners
- 2021 – Snowfall (6/1)
- 2020 – Love (11/10)
- 2019 – Anapurna (8/1)
- 2018 – Forever Together (7/1)
- 2017 – Enable (6/1)
- 2016 – Minding (10/11 fav)
- 2015 – Qualify (50/1)
- 2014 – Taghrooda (5/1)
- 2013 – Talent (20/1)
- 2012 – Was (20/1)
- 2011 – Dancing Rain (20/1)
- 2010 – Snow Fairy (9/1)
- 2009 – Sariska (9/4 fav)
- 2008 – Look Here (33/1)
- 2007 – Light Shift (13/2)
- 2006 – Alexandrova (9/4 fav)
- 2005 – Eswarah (11/4 jfav)
- 2004 – Ouija Board (7/2)
- 2003 – Casual Look (10/1)
- 2002 – Kazzia (10/3 fav)
Epsom Oaks Betting Trends
From the last 19 runnings of the Epsom Oaks, these are the key trends you should take into account when placing your bets in 2022:
- 19/19 – Ran within the last 5 weeks
- 16/19 – Horses from stall 1 that were unplaced
- 16/19 – Finished 1st or 2nd last time out
- 12/19 – Won over at least 1m2f previously
- 12/19 – Won from stall 5 or higher
- 12/19 – Favourites that were placed
- 11/19 – Won last time out
- 6/19 – Won by the favourite (1 joint)
- 5/19 – Returned a double-figure price
- 6/19 – Trained by Aidan O’Brien
- 6/19 – Irish-trained winners
- 5/19 – Ran in the English 1,000 Guineas
- 3/19 – Trained by John Gosden
- 3/19 – Ridden by Ryan Moore
- 2/19 – Trained by Ralph Beckett
- 1/19 – Had run over 1m4f before
- 0/19 – Had run at the course before
- 7 of the last 14 favourites were unplaced
- Trainer Aidan O’Brien has won the race 8 times
- Trainer John Gosden has won 3 of the last 7 runnings.
- The average winning SP in the last 17 runnings is 11/1
- Love (2020), Kazzia (2002) and Minding (2016) were the last horses to win both the 1,000 Guineas and Epsom Oaks
- The horse from stall 2 has been placed in 7 of the last 19 runnings
Past Epsom Derby Winners
- 2021 – Adayar
- 2020 – Serpentine
- 2019 – Anthony Van Dyck (13/2)
- 2018 – Masar (16/1)
- 2017 – Wings of Eagles (40/1)
- 2016 – Harzand (13/2)
- 2015 – Golden Horn (13/8 fav)
- 2014 – Australia (11/8 fav)
- 2013 – Ruler Of The World (7/1)
- 2012 – Camelot (8/13 fav)
- 2011 – Pour Moi (4/1)
- 2010 – Workforce (6/1)
- 2009 – Sea The Stars (11/4)
- 2008 – New Approach (5/1)
- 2007 – Authorized (5/4 fav)
- 2006 – Sir Percy (6/1)
- 2005 – Motivator (3/1 fav)
- 2004 – North Light (7/2 j fav)
- 2003 – Kris Kin (6/1)
- 2002 – High Chaparral (7/2)
Epsom Derby Betting Trends
From the last 19 runnings of the Epsom Derby, these are the key trends you should take into account when placing your bets in 2022:
- 18/19 – Ran within the last 5 weeks
- 17/19 – Raced no more than 5 times before
- 16/19 – Returned 7/1 or shorter in the betting
- 17/19 – Finished 1st or 2nd last time out
- 16/19 – Had won a Group race before
- 12/19 – Favourites that were placed
- 12/19 – Won from a single-figure stall
- 13/19 – Won last time out
- 13/19 – Had run over at least 1m2f before
- 11/19 – Had raced no more than 3 times before
- 10/19 – Irish-trained winners
- 8/19 – Had won a Group One before
- 6/19 – Won by the favourite
- 7/19 – Trained by Aidan O’Brien (won 7 in all)
- 5/19 – Ran in the 2,000 Guineas that season (2 winners)
- 4/19 – Won the Dante Stakes (York) last time out
- 3/19 – Trained by Sir Michael Stoute (won 5 in all)
- 4/19 – Winners from stall 12 or higher
- 2/19 – Won over 1m4f before
- 0/19 – Run at the course before
- 0/19 – Winners from stall 1
- The average winning SP in the last 19 runnings is 15/2
- 10 Dante winners went onto win the Derby (Golden Horn, 2015 being the most-recent)
- Only 1 horse that was beaten in the Dante (Workforce) went onto win the Derby
Epsom Derby Trainer Stats
- Sir Michael Stoute won the race in 2010, 2004, 2003, 1986 & 1981
- Aidan O’Brien won the race in 2002, 2001, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018 & 2020
Epsom Derby Bookmakers
The Epsom Derby Festival betting will also start to get more popular as the race draws nearer, but many Epsom Derby bookmakers will have ante-post markets months before the races.
Be sure to shop around at the best Epsom Derby bookmakers though to get the best Epsom Derby Festival betting odds.
Epsom Derby Festival History
The Investec Epsom Oaks is run over a trip of 1m4f and is the third of the five English Classics to be run each season.
The Epsom Oaks is a Group One and is open to 3-year-old fillies. First run in 1779 the Epsom Oaks is a horse race that has plenty of Epsom Derby history attacked to it. The First Epsom Oaks winners was a horse called Bridget.
The Investec Epsom Derby is also run over a distance of 1m4f and is the fourth of the five English Classics. The race is open to 3 year-old colts and fillies, although the fillies tend to run in the Epsom Oaks.
The first Epsom Derby winner was a horse Diomed, who won the Epsom Derby back in 1780.
Both the Epsom Derby and Epsom Oaks have had many sponsors over the years – including Ever Ready batteries and Vodafone, but their current backer is Investec, who took over the Epsom Derby and Epsom Oaks sponsorship in 2009.
Other key races to note at the Epsom Derby Festival are the Epsom Dash and the Coronation Cup.
