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In this ever changing world where sometimes change is made for changes sake, while we are here I do wonder if the Derby should be run on a Sunday.
Oaks on Saturday as it always was.
I think a day out at for the Derby on a Sunday would revive the race somewhat. Just writing this on a Sunday morning where things are quieter would give me focus for the race more later.
Too much else going on on a Saturday.I also think that people are just too busier too nowadays, technology has seen to that! My working life we were pretty busy in the 70’s and 80’s, but nothing like there is now with the invention of emails, blackberry devices etc which has meant people never really switch off from their jobs, even on holiday.
It would be harder to relax or get that time off on Wednesday now. Sunday can still be busy if you want it to, but is the quieter day. Some would then say leave it be so people can recharge.
Paul the Omniscient has a nice picture in this.
Put your knitting needles down and try and find it !I grew up not far from Epsom and have only missed four Derby Days since 1980. It always used to be the Derby on the Wednesday, Coronation Cup on Thursday, Sun Life Of Canada Day on Friday and the Oaks on Saturday. Loved the meeting back then.
Obviously, the switch to Saturday was done with turnover in mind but the race lost what made it special. Instead of the whole nation grinding to a halt on a Wednesday afternoon (much like with the midweek Melbourne Cup down under), the race has now been lost amongst all the other “betting opportunities” on a Saturday.
Of course, the horse is no longer essential to the average man, its place in everyday life having been replaced by the motorised vehicle, and horse racing has consequently become of less interest to most people.
As a niche product, racing needs something to distinguish it from all its competitors, so moving the Derby back to its Wednesday slot would be the best option for all parties.
Sadly, it’ll never happen.
PS: Epsom should also return the Great Metropolitan Handicap to its old distance of 2 miles 2 furlongs.
I first attended The Derby in 1985 back in the days when it was on a Wednesday and half London took the day off to attend.
I remember being gobsmacked by a packed Epsom Downs with not one blade of grass in view.
It lost so much by losing its unofficial Holiday status and becoming just another Saturday big race.
As for the Great Metropolitan Handicap, it needs restoring to its former quirky, characteristic glory: https://youtu.be/arDs914fY-g https://youtu.be/l3scTrfRejs
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"On which three days of the week has the Derby NOT been run on? (To my knowledge, I may be corrected)
Wednesday made it more special with people specifically booking days off work well in advance etc but I guess commercially it works better on a Saturday and times change along with competition from a myriad of other sports that have surpassed racing in the public sphere.
Personally I would look at doing a re-vamp and maybe shifting the meeting from a Friday/Saturday to a Saturday/Sunday with the Coronation Cup & Oaks on the Saturday and the Derby on Sunday with the Epsom Dash being the race to preceed it.
Or you could go really outside the box and do a Super Saturday Cazoo Festival starting at 2:30 with the Woodcote, 3pm a big Handicap race, 3:30pm the Diomed, 4pm the Princes Elizabeth, 4:30 the Epsom Dash, 5pm the Coronation Cup, 5:30 the Oaks with the last race being the Derby at 6pm all on ITV’s main channel.
It may not make the slighttest difference viewership wise but to me it is well worth trying something new as the Friday with the Coronation Cup & Oaks gets somewhat lost to me.
Thanks for the links to the Great Met. It would be good to see that race run over its old course again but I suppose it will not happen.
There used to be a round course at Newmarket named the Sefton Course, which might have been better for the spectators than the straight ten furlongs of the Rowley Mile.
The Wednesday Derby was a big thing in London but it was not in the rest of the country. I do not remember anyone taking the day off because it was Derby Day.
“Thanks for the links to the Great Met. It would be good to see that race run over its old course again but I suppose it will not happen.”
You’re welcome – odds on we get neither this back nor Ally Pally, but it needn’t stop us wanting to see it happen.
If the world can go all retro and fall in love with Peaky Blinders, then why not resurrect these brilliant blasts from the past (and who cares what Willie Carson thinks?)
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Stodge,
No, the Town Plate is run on the July Course. They start in front of the stands, gallop away from the stands to the old 1M 7F start and then turn round and come back.
And there’s no chance of the Frying Pan starting up again, for the same reason it closed down in the first place. The track wasn’t wide enough for a single unit of starting stalls where two thirds of the races began, in front of the stands.
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