Trial races for the Epsom Derby
Trial races for the Epsom Derby are horse races during April and May which are contested by three-year-olds likely to run in The Derby in early June.
Most Derby runners appear in at least one race in the weeks before the event, although some, such as the winners Lammtarra and Shaamit, may arrive at Epsom with no previous run as a three-year-old.
The leading trial of recent years has been the Dante Stakes, which has been contested by seven subsequent winners of the Derby in the last twenty-four years. The following table shows any race classed at Listed level or above which served as a trial for a Derby winner during the period 1992 to 2018.
| Race | Derby winners from race 1992–2017 (won unless stated) |
| Prix La Force | Pour Moi (3rd) |
| Feilden Stakes | Erhaab (2nd), Golden Horn |
| Craven Stakes | Dr Devious (2nd), Masar |
| Ballysax Stakes | Sinndar (2nd), Galileo, High Chaparral, Harzand |
| Sandown Classic Trial | Benny the Dip (2nd) |
| 2,000 Guineas | Sir Percy (2nd), New Approach (2nd), Sea the Stars, Camelot, Australia (3rd), Masar (3rd) |
| Kentucky Derby | Dr Devious (7th) |
| Dee Stakes | Oath, Kris Kin |
| Lingfield Derby Trial | High-Rise |
| Prix Greffulhe | Pour Moi |
| Chester Vase | Ruler of the World, Wings of Eagles (2nd) |
| Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial | Sinndar, Galileo, High Chaparral |
| Dante Stakes | Erhaab, Benny the Dip, North Light, Motivator, Authorized, Workforce (2nd), Golden Horn |
| Glasgow Stakes(No longer a trial) | Commander in Chief |
| Cocked Hat Stakes | Troy |
| Irish 2,000 Guineas | New Approach (2nd) |
| Unraced as 3-y-o | Lammtarra, Shaamit |
2015 Derby contenders
Notable early-season appearances by horses which ran in the 2015 Epsom Derby.
- Carbon Dating – 5th in Investec Derby Trial, 3rd in Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial
- Elm Park - 3rd in Dante Stakes
- Epicuris - 2nd in Prix La Force
- Giovanni Canaletto - 2nd in Gallinule Stakes
- Golden Horn - 1st in Feilden Stakes, 1st in Dante Stakes
- Hans Holbein - 1st in Chester Vase
- Jack Hobbs - 2nd in Dante Stakes
- Kilimanjaro - 1st in Lingfield Derby Trial
- Moheet - 3rd in Craven Stakes, 8th in 2000 Guineas
- Rogue Runner - 3rd in Fruhjahrs-Preis des Bankhauses Metzler Stadtrat Albert von Metzler-Rennen
- Storm The Stars - 2nd in Chester Vase, 1st in Cocked Hat Stakes
- Success Days - 1st in Ballysax Stakes, 1st in Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial