It’s Again Time For That Annual Bet On The Epsom Derby

Posted: May 30, 2018

Updated: May 30, 2018

The Epsom Derby is one of the most prestigious horse races on the UK racing calendar and attracts a massively strong field and a huge watching crowd each year to the Epsom Downs course just south of London where the annual tradition of placing a bet on the Epsom Derby is indulged in by both the great and the good as well as the great unwashed. We take a look at this magical race and the odds you’ll find available at online sites like Bet365 as the hype ramps up before the day itself

The Epsom Derby

Date – Saturday June 2nd
Time – 3pm UK
Location – Epsom Downs
Length – 2,420m
Surface – Turf
Purse – 1.625m GBP

There are very few horse races with the same pedigree as this staple of the British racing calendar that regularly sees horses from across the water in Ireland competing for the purse. Dating back well over two hundred years and running uninterrupted since its inauguration in 1780 despite little problems like the first and second world wars the placing of a bet on the Epsom Derby each year is, for the British at least very much akin to the traditional wagers one might make on the Grand National or FA Cup final.

These small flutters are part of the very character of the British and this year is likely to see many who are not used to taking advantage of liberal UK gambling laws do so to back a horse whose name they like the sound of. This casual socially acceptable gambling gives the whole event a carnival like atmosphere however a bet on the Epsom Derby has of late become a slightly more risky affair than even the bookies odds would give rise to cause as the ghastly spectre of crowd trouble raises its head.

Epsom Derby Betting Is A Grand Old Racing Tradition

Crowd violence at public events is not uncommon anywhere in the world, the more people you get in one place the more likely someone is going to start some trouble, however there has been an alarming spike in violence at the typically quite safe and secure environs of the racing world this summer that has everyone on alert. No one wishes to be caught up in a melee just attempting to bet on the Epsom Derby at the course itself rather than from the safety of the sofa and internet giants like Bet365.

Goodwood, Ascot and Newbury all saw trouble this summer and you can bet on the Epsom Derby to have it’s own fair share of issues, one of which will be the rampant use of cocaine among the rich and well to do. The poor might bet on sports in the UK, get drunk and start hitting each other (boys will be boys and all that rot) but only the wealthy will spend the day hanging around the toilets snorting more snow than Alberto Tomba could ski down……and then hit each other (as happened after the Gold Cup).

Epsom Derby Bets On Security To Beat Coke Fueled Violence

Of course for most of us a bet on the Epsom Derby will be something we do from the safe security of our own homes using the marvels of modern technology to bring us the very latest odds for our bet on the Epsom Derby. Sites like Bet365 are offering some remarkably attractive odds especially if you’ve decided to hedge your bets and go each way rather than on the nose. The favorites are awfully short priced for a big bankroll boost, but that third place slot looks like it could just be an earner on the day.

Saxon Warrior is, naturally, the favorite having won the 2000 Guineas and needing this victory for a shot at the Triple Crown of UK horse racing, but Roaring Lion isn’t that far behind in the odds and just because these two are head and shoulders above the rest in terms of odds that doesn’t mean your bet on the Epsom Derby at Bet365 need be on one of them, after all there’ll be plenty of the people in the UK gambling news headlines on Sunday will be of a far longer shot having won this prestigious horse race.