Epsom Derby (2021) Betting Tips, Odds and Picks
The Epsom Derby Festival in Surrey, England, is one of the most popular horse racing festivals in the world. It takes place over the course of two days - the big race on Day One is the Epsom Oak Stakes. This guide will reveal all.
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18+ New customers using Promo code H30 only, Min £10/€10 stake, min odds 1/2, free bets paid as 2 x £15/€15, free bets credited after settlement of first qualifying bet, free bets will expire 30 days after the qualifying bet is placed, payment method/player/country restrictions apply. T&C apply. www.begambleaware.org
18+ New Players only. Make a qualifying deposit of €5* or more and claim the offer within 30 days of registering your account to qualify. Must contain at least one selection at odds of 1/5 (1.20) or greater.. For free bet wagering requirements and minimum odds read T&C’s. www.begambleaware.org
Race Schedule
During this two-day festival, there are 14 races that we horse racing fans can sit down and enjoy. Below we have given you the race cards for the Epsom Derby 2021, and you should take a good look at each one as they can help you out when it comes down to Epsom Derby betting. We recommend that you mark down the times of the races that you are interested in on your phone or computer, so you do not forget about them and miss out.
Day 1 - Friday 4th June 2021
Day 1 of this festival is also known as Ladies' Day, which means that those in attendance have to put on their best attire. If you do not like to dress to impress, then Day 1 is not the day for you. Below are the races that you will be able to enjoy on the opening day of this big horse racing meeting:
| Start Time | Race | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| 14:00pm | Woodcote EBF Stakes | 6f 3y |
| 14:35pm | Mile Handicap | 1m 113y |
| 15:10pm | Coronation Cup | 1m 4f 6y |
| 15.45pm | Wealth and Investment Handicap | 1m 2f 17y |
| 16:30pm | Cazoo Oaks | 1m 4f 6y |
| 17:15pm | Surrey Stakes | 7f 3y |
| 17:50pm | Zebra Handicap | 7f 3y |
Day 2 - Saturday 5th June 2021
Day 2 of the Epsom Derby is one of the most exciting in British horse racing as there is a whopping £1.6 million in prize money up for grabs for the derby alone. Below is the full race card for Day 2 of this prestigious event:
| Start Time | Race | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| 14:00pm | Private Banking Handicap | 1m 2f 17y |
| 14:35pm | Princess Elizabeth Stakes | 1m 113y |
| 15:10pm | Diomed Stakes | 1m 113y |
| 15.45pm | Dash Handicap | 5f |
| 16:30pm | Cazoo Derby Stakes | 1m 4f 6y |
| 17:15pm | Out of the Ordinary Handicap | 1m 4f 6y |
| 17:50pm | Asset Management Handicap | 6f 3y |
Epsom Derby Betting: Runners and Odds
As the tables above show, there are plenty of races over the two days to keep horse racing bettors highly entertained. Not only can the jockeys, owners, and trainers make a lot of money over these two days of racing, but so can you if you do your homework before placing your money on a horse to win.
In the following section of this guide, we are going to provide you with Epsom Derby tips as well as Epsom Oaks tips that can definitely come in handy when you sit down to think about what horses you want to bet on at this festival.
However, before we give you these useful tips, we are going to provide you with an odds table for the derby. In this table, you will find the odds for the runners as well as who trains each of the participating horses. It is always wise to take a look at who the favourites for a race are and who they have been trained by as a good trainer can be the difference between winning or losing a race.
| Runners | Bet365 | William Hill | 888Sport | BetVictor | Unibet | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bolshoi Ballet | 11/8 | 13/8 | 6/4 | 13/8 | 13/8 | A P O'Brien |
| Mac Swiney | 4/1 | 4/1 | 4/1 | 4/1 | 9/2 | Jim Bolger |
| Hurricane Lane | 15/2 | 6/1 | 6/1 | 6/1 | 6/1 | C Appleby |
| Mohaafeth | 15/2 | 15/2 | 15/2 | 7/1 | 7/1 | W J Haggas |
| John Leeper | 7/1 | 7/1 | 7/1 | 8/1 | 17/2 | E Dunlop |
| Third Realm | 13/1 | 10/1 | 10/1 | 11/1 | 10/1 | R Varian |
| One Ruler | 19/1 | 19/1 | 17/1 | 19/1 | 17/1 | C Appleby |
| Gear Up | 24/1 | 19/1 | 17/1 | 24/1 | 15/1 | M Johnston |
| Southern Lights | 27/1 | 27/1 | 24/1 | 24/1 | 27/1 | J P O'Brien |
| Youth Spirit | 32/1 | 27/1 | 24/1 | 27/1 | 24/1 | A M Balding |
| Adayar | 49/1 | 27/1 | 27/1 | 32/1 | 27/1 | C Appleby |
| Mojo Star | 149/1 | 99/1 | 65/1 | 65/1 | 99/1 | R Hannon |
Epsom Oaks Betting: Runners and Odds
We are also providing you with an odds table for the other big race of the event, the Epsom Oaks. This race is for fillies that are three years old, and it is the second oldest race out of the five classics, with the oldest classic being St Leger. Once again, below you can find a table with all the runners and their odds from five of the best bookies around.
| Runners | Bet365 | William Hill | 888Sport | BetVictor | Unibet | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snowfall | 11/2 | 11/2 | 11/2 | 11/2 | 5/1 | A P O'Brien |
| Mystery Angel | 49/1 | 39/1 | 49/1 | 49/1 | 39/1 | G Boughey |
| Divinely | 19/1 | 19/1 | 19/1 | 19/1 | 21/1 | A P O'Brien |
| Save a Forest | 39/1 | 39/1 | 39/1 | 39/1 | 39/1 | R Varian |
| Santa Barbara | 5/2 | 5/2 | 5/2 | 5/2 | 5/2 | A P O'Brien |
| Ocean Road | 24/1 | 24/1 | 24/1 | 24/1 | 24/1 | H Palmer |
| Technique | 124/1 | 124/1 | 124/1 | 124/1 | 124/1 | M Meade |
| Saffron Beach | 24/1 | 19/1 | 17/1 | 24/1 | 15/1 | J Chapple-Hyam |
| Sherbett Lemon | 27/1 | 24/1 | 27/1 | 27/1 | 27/1 | A Watson |
| Teona | 11/1 | 11/1 | 11/1 | 11/1 | 11/1 | R Varian |
| La Joconde | 39/1 | 39/1 | 39/1 | 39/1 | 39/1 | A P O'Brien |
| Dubai Fountain | 3/1 | 3/1 | 3/1 | 3/1 | 3/1 | M Johnston |
| Zeyaadah | 5/1 | 5/1 | 5/1 | 5/1 | 13/2 | R Varian |
| Willow | 21/1 | 21/1 | 21/1 | 19/1 | 21/1 | A P O'Brien |
Epsom Derby and Oaks Tips
When it comes to placing bets on Epsom, there is absolutely nothing stopping you from jumping right in and betting on whatever horse you like without doing any research, but this will ultimately lead to more failures than successes.
While you might get lucky and win a race every so often, the most likely scenario is that you will lose money and start to get frustrated. Below, as promised in the previous section, we are going to give some valuable tips that you should always keep in mind when you are betting on the Epsom Festival.
Always Check Out the Trainer
The trainer plays a crucial role when it comes to the success of a horse. If a racing horse has a poor trainer, then it is highly unlikely that the horse will win many of the races that it is taking part in. When it comes to Epsom, there is one trainer that stands out from the rest and that is Aidan O'Brien. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest horse trainers ever, and his stats back up this claim. He has had 8 Epsom Derby winners and 8 Epsom Oaks winners, and he will be looking to make it 9 apiece this June. He won the Oaks in 2020 and also the Derby of the same year.
So, when you are thinking about betting on horse racing for the Epsom Derby, you would not be doing yourself any harm by looking at the horses that O'Brien has trained.
Check Out the Jockeys Too
We would argue that trainers are more important to jockeys, but this is not to downplay the importance of jockeys. The jockeys are also important because the best horse would not perform as well as he could if he had a rubbish jockey sitting on his back. Therefore, like with the trainers, before you make a wager, you should take a look at recent races to see if certain jockeys have dominated in recent years.
If you look at the previous races, then you will see that no one jockey has dominated in the last five years. In fact, a different jockey has won it in the last five year - Pat Smullen, Padraig Beggy, William Buick, Seamie Heffernan, and Emmet McNamara. If any of these jockeys are racing again this year, then you should definitely give their horses a second look.
When it comes to Epsom Oaks horse races, you will see that Frankie Dettori and Ryan Moore have picked up two wins each out of the last five years. So, if Dettori and Moore are racing in the 2021 Royal Oaks, then you should definitely take a closer look at their horses.
Previous Trends for the Epsom Festival
Before you go ahead and start looking at betting odds Epsom Derby, we suggest that you have a look at some previous trends as these can be really useful when it comes to betting on the event. Below, we are going to have a look at some previous trends for both the Derby and the Oaks.
Epsom Derby:
- From the last 19 races, 17 winners finished first or second in their previous race
- Out of the last 19 winners, 12 of them were favourites at the start of the race
- From the previous 19 winners, 12 of them have won from a single-number stall
- From the last 19 champions, 13 of them had raced at least 1m 2f before
- Out of the last 19 winners in this race, 13 of them had won the previous race they took part in
- From the last 19 victors, 8 of them had won at least one Group 1 race before
Epsom Oaks:
- Out of the last 19 races, 6 of them have been won by the favourite
- From the previous 19 winners, 11 of them won the last race that they took part in, while 16 of the winners finished first or second in their last race
- All 19 previous winners had run within the last five weeks before the Epsom Derby
- From the last 19 winners, 12 of them have won from stall five or higher
- Out of the last 19 races, the favourites have placed 12 times
18+ New UK + IRE customers. Paypal and certain deposit types and bet types excluded. Min 5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 = 4 x 5 free bets. Free bets valid for 7 days on sports, stake not returned, restrictions apply. www.begambleaware.org
18+ New customers using Promo code H30 only, Min £10/€10 stake, min odds 1/2, free bets paid as 2 x £15/€15, free bets credited after settlement of first qualifying bet, free bets will expire 30 days after the qualifying bet is placed, payment method/player/country restrictions apply. T&C apply. www.begambleaware.org
18+ New Players only. Make a qualifying deposit of €5* or more and claim the offer within 30 days of registering your account to qualify. Must contain at least one selection at odds of 1/5 (1.20) or greater.. For free bet wagering requirements and minimum odds read T&C’s. www.begambleaware.org
Free Bet Offers
So, now that we have given you some very handy information that will help you when you are betting at the Epsom Festival, we are going to now take a look at some free bet offers. Nowadays, the best sports books will offer potential new players free bets to entice them into opening an account. Free bets have not all been created equally, so below you can find a table that shows some of the leading bookies (in our opinion) when it comes to the free bets and horse racing coverage that they offer.
You can obviously use these free bets on whatever sporting events you want, but if you sign up with one of them when the Epsom Festival is on, we suggest that you use them for this fantastic horse racing event.
| Epsom Derby Free Bets | |
|---|---|
| Bet365 | Up to €100 in bet credits. Claim Now |
| William Hill | Bet €10 and get €40 in free bets. Claim Now |
| 888 Sport | Bet €10 on your first race and receive 6 x €5 free bets. Claim Now |
| BetVictor | Bet €10 and get €40 in bonuses. Claim Now |
| Unibet | If your first horse racing bet is a dud, you can receive up to €40 back and a €10 casino bonus. Claim Now |
N.B. Bookmakers have to keep changing their bonus offers all of the time as a means of trying to stay that little bit ahead of their main rivals. Therefore, there is the possibility that if you decide to pay one of the bookmakers from the table a visit that their bonus on their site will not match the bonus we mentioned in the table. This is unfortunate, but it is not something that we can always be in control of. However, we have to stress that we do try our best to keep our whole website up to scratch. Anyway, if a bonus has changed without us realizing it, we are certain that the new bonus that is being offered will be just as good or even better.
18+ New UK + IRE customers. Paypal and certain deposit types and bet types excluded. Min 5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 = 4 x 5 free bets. Free bets valid for 7 days on sports, stake not returned, restrictions apply. www.begambleaware.org
18+ New customers using Promo code H30 only, Min £10/€10 stake, min odds 1/2, free bets paid as 2 x £15/€15, free bets credited after settlement of first qualifying bet, free bets will expire 30 days after the qualifying bet is placed, payment method/player/country restrictions apply. T&C apply. www.begambleaware.org
18+ New Players only. Make a qualifying deposit of €5* or more and claim the offer within 30 days of registering your account to qualify. Must contain at least one selection at odds of 1/5 (1.20) or greater.. For free bet wagering requirements and minimum odds read T&C’s. www.begambleaware.org
Previews
Below you will be able to find some handy news that you can put to good use when you are gambling on the Epsom Derby or doing a spot of Oaks betting.
A P O'Brien is Hungry for More Wins
When Serpentine won in 2020, A P O'Brien became the first-ever trainer in the history of horse racing to win this race 8 times. While he will no doubt be ecstatic about being at the top of the tree, he will want to make it a 9th Epsom Derby win this time around. He also made it 8 wins in the Epsom Oaks and will be looking to make it 9 wins to draw closer to Robert Robson, who won this race 13 times.
Frankie Dettori Aims for More Success with No Plans of Retiring
Frankie Dettori has won pretty much everything there is to win in the racing world, and at the age of 50, you would think that he would be content to hang up his racing gear and enjoy his retirement. However, he is not even thinking about retiring just yet and wants to add more trophies to his trophy cabinet. You might find it hard to believe, but it took Dettori 15 attempts before he won his first Epsom Derby. He then went on to win it for the second time in 2015, and he would love to make it a hattrick of wins.
When it comes to the Epsom Oaks, he has lifted the trophy 5 times, and he will be hoping to win it at least one more time before he retires as this means he will have equalled the record set by Lester Piggott, who is considered by most in the horse racing world to be one of the best flat racing jockeys ever.
Some Fans Might be Allowed to Attend
Due to the pandemic, most sporting events over the last year or so have not been allowed anyone in attendance. There was a hope that there would be some attendance allowed at the Epsom Derby, but that is not the case, unfortunately.
While this is a bit of a downer, at least there are several ways that you will be able to follow the races from home. We shall have a look at these different ways right now.
Freeview: Since the Epsom Derby is one of the biggest horse race meetings out there, the races will more than likely be shown on a Freeview channel such as Channel 4 or ITV. Take a look at the schedule nearer to the time to see when the coverage of this festival will start.
Racing TV: When it comes to horse racing channels in Britain and Ireland, there is one that stands head and shoulders above the rest, and that is Racing TV. This channel shows horses races from 35 tracks across Britain and 26 tracks across Ireland. They show a staggering 8,000 races every year, with many of these races being exclusive to this channel. If you live in the United Kingdom, then you can access this channel if you have a Sky or Virgin account, while those who live in Ireland can access it if they have a Virgin, Sky or Vodafone account.
Bookmakers: Horse racing betting has become so popular that bookmakers know that failure to show live streams for horse racing events will lead to them missing out on potential customers. As a result, all of the best bookies will show races from the big horse race meetings such as the Epsom Derby. To watch the streams, you just need to log into your account and have some money in it.
A Look back at the Previous Year
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2021 festival went ahead, and there were a number of fans that were allowed to attend. If you are wondering who won the Epsom Derby 2021, it was Adayar, who was raced by A Kirby and trained by C Appley. The winner of the Epsom Oaks was Snowfall, who was raced by F Dettori and trained by A P O'Brien. Below we have provided you with a final results table for both races from this year:
Epsom Derby 2021 Results
| Horses in Finishing Order | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adayar | A Kirby | C Appleby | 40/1 |
| Mojo Star | D Egan | R Hannon | 50/1 |
| Hurricane Lane | W Buick | C Appleby | 11/2 |
| MacSwiney | K Manning | J Bolger | 6/1 |
| Third Realm | A Atzeni | R Varian | 12/1 |
| One Ruler | J Doyle | C Appleby | 10/1 |
| Bolshoi Ballet | R Moore | A P O'Brien | 10/1 |
| Youth Spirit | T Marquand | A Balding | 25/1 |
| John Leeper | F Dettori | E Dunlop | 7/5 |
| Gear Up | B Curtis | M Johnston | 30/1 |
| Southern Lights | D McDonagh | J P O'Brien | 30/1 |
Epsom Oaks 2021 Results
| Horses in Finishing Order | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snowfall | F Dettori | A P O'Brien | 6/1 |
| Mystery Angel | B Curtis | G Boughey | 40/1 |
| Divinely | S Heffernan | A P O'Brien | 18/1 |
| Save a Forest | C Shepherd | R Varian | 30/1 |
| Santa Barbara | R Moore | A P O'Brien | 5/2 |
| Ocean Road | O Murphy | H Palmer | 30/1 |
| Technique | S Levey | M Meade | 50/1 |
| Saffron Beach | A Kirby | J Chapple-Hyam | 25/1 |
| Sherbet Lemon | H Doyle | A Watson | 7/5 |
| Teona | D Egan | R Varian | 8/1 |
| La Joconde | W Buick | A P O'Brien | 50/1 |
| Dubai Fountain | F Norton | M Johnston | 6/1 |
| Zeyaadah | J Crowley | R Varian | 5/1 |
| Willow | W Lordan | A P O'Brien | 18/1 |
FAQ
When is the Epsom Derby?
The 2021 Epsom Festival will be held on the 4th and 5th of June, and the Epsom Derby will take place on the second day.
At What Time is the Epsom Derby?
The Epsom Derby will be run at 16:30 on the 5th June.
How Long is the Epsom Derby?
The Epsom Derby is 1m 4f 6y in length.
Who Will Win the Epsom Derby?
This is a question that we cannot answer yet since we do not know which horses will be running in this race.
When is the Epsom Oaks?
The Epsom Oaks will be run on the 4th of June at 16.30. Like the Epsom Derby, it is 1m 4f and 6y long.
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