Derby (horse race)
A derby (UK 
/ˈdɑːbɪ/ DAH-bee or US /ˈdɜrbɪ/ DUR-bee) is a type of horse race, named after the Derby Stakes, still run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in England.[1] That was in turn named for Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby, who inaugurated the race in 1780.[2] The best-known example in the United States is the Kentucky Derby.[3][4]
Traditionally, the term "derby" is used strictly to refer to races restricted to three-year-olds,[citation needed] as the English and U.S. Triple Crown races all are. The most notable exceptions to this rule are the Hong Kong Derby and Singapore Derby, restricted to four-year-old Thoroughbreds, and the Canadian Pacing Derby, an annual harness race for "aged pacers" (Standardbreds) four years old and up.[citation needed]
In Scandinavian harness racing Derby is restricted to four-year-olds. Exception is the Finnhorse Derby, which is restricted to five-year-olds.
| Name | Place | Distance | Restrictions | First race |
Day | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Derby | Arlington Park, Arlington Heights, Illinois, USA[t 1] | 1 3/16 miles[t 2] | 1884[5] | |||
| Australian Derby (also known as AJC Derby) | Randwick Racecourse, Sydney | 2,400 metres | 3 yr olds | 1861 | Late March or early April | |
| Bangalore Derby[6] | 2,400 metres | 4 yr olds & up | ||||
| Epsom Derby (also known as The Derby, Derby Stakes and the English Derby) | Epsom Downs Racecourse, England | 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yards | 3 yr olds | 1780 | 1st Saturday in June[t 3] | |
| French Derby (more often known as Prix du Jockey Club) | Chantilly Racecourse | 2,100 metres (about 1 mile and 2½ furlongs) | 3 yr olds | 1836 | Early June | |
| German Derby | Horner Rennbahn, Hamburg | 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles) | 1869 | Early July | ||
| Hong Kong Derby | ||||||
| Italian Derby (Derby Italiano) | 1884 | |||||
| Indian Derby | Kolkata Racecourse, Kolkata | metres | ||||
| Irish Derby | The Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland | 1½ miles | 3 yr olds | 1866 | Last Sunday in June[t 4] | |
| Kentucky Derby | Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky, USA | 1¼ miles | 3 yr olds | 1875 | 1st Saturday in May | |
| New Zealand Derby | Ellerslie Racecourse, Auckland | 2,400 metres (12 furlongs) | 3yr olds | 1860 | 1st Saturday in March | The richest Derby in the Southern Hemisphere |
| Queensland Derby | ||||||
| Singapore Derby | ||||||
| Swedish Trotting Derby (Svenskt Travderby) | Jägersro Racetrack, Malmö | 2,640 metres (1,64 miles) | 4yr olds | 1928 | 1st Sunday in September | |
| Victoria Derby | ||||||
| WATC Derby | ||||||
| Footnotes: | ||||||
- Other
- American Classic Races
- British Classic Races
- French Classic Races
- Thoroughbred horse racing
- Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
[edit] Notes
- ^ Reeves 1997, p.134.
- ^ Vesey 2003, p. 135.
- ^ Freeman 1997, p. 68.
- ^ Schreifer & Sivell 1996.
- ^ Only run once between 1905 and 1925.
- ^ Sun Kingdom wins Bangalore Derby Retrieved 2011-2-6
[edit] References
- Ashok, Kalyan (11 July 2010), "Derby getting bigger and better", The Hindu, http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Bangalore/article510926.ece
- Freeman, Morton S. (1997), A new dictionary of eponyms (Illustrated ed.), Oxford University Press US, ISBN 0195093542
- Reeves, Richard Stone (1997), Crown jewels of thoroughbred racing: original paintings (Illustrated ed.), Eclipse Press, ISBN 0939049902
- Schreifer, Kirk; Sivell, John (1996), America From Apple Pie To Ziegfeld Follies Book One: People, 1 (Illustrated ed.), Full Blast Productions, ISBN 1895451175
- Vesey, Barbara (2003), The Hidden Places of East Anglia: Including Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire (7 ed.), Travel Publishing, ISBN 1902007913
 |
This article includes a list of related items that share the same name (or similar names). If an internal link incorrectly led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. |
