A total of 388 entries have been received for the 2010 Derby, details of which are revealed today.

The Classic will be run at Epsom Downs on Saturday, June 5, 2010,with a prize fund of at least £1,250,000.

The combination of owners Sue Magnier, Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor have 72 entries between them, with all but four of these with champion trainer Aidan O’Brien. The Coolmore team have enjoyed victories with Galileo (2001) and High Chaparral (2002) and are invariably well-represented in the Derby every year. Their entries include the 650,000 guineas Montjeu colt who jointly topped the Tattersalls October Sale and a US$2 million Storm Cat colt bought at Saratoga in August.

Coolmore’s great rival, Godolphin, is responsible for a total of 31 entries, including a US$1 million Kingmambo colt, while Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, successful with Nashwan (1989) and Erhaab (1994), has 35 representatives at the initial entry stage.

There are 25 entries from the Aga Khan, the most successful current owner in the Derby who has gained four victories courtesy of Shergar (1981), Shahrastani (1986), Kahyasi (1988) and Sinndar (2000). All of the Aga Khan’s 25 entries are trained in either Ireland or France (split between Alain de Royer Durpe, Jean Claude Rouget and John Oxx) and include an Azamour half-brother to this year’s outstanding filly Zarkava.

Other owners with entries who have won the Classic in the past are Ballymacoll Stud (North Light 2004, three entries), Saeed Suhail (2003 Kris Kin, six entries) and the Royal Ascot Racing Club (2005 Motivator, one entry).

The Derby is the only Classic in which the Queen has not seen her colours carried to victory, although her Aureole only found Pinza too good in the coronation year of 1953 and she has three entries for 2010.

Prolific-spending Australian owner Nathan Tinkler has entered the 770,000 euros Galileo colt who topped the Deauville August Sale, while other expensive purchases include a 500,000 guineas owned by Sir Robert Ogden.

No filly has won the Derby since Fifinella landed the wartime substitute at Newmarket in 1916 while the last to triumph at Epsom Downs was Tagalie in 1912. There are five fillies entered for the 2010 renewal, including daughters of the high-class performers Mezzo Soprano, Petrushka, Zahrat Dubai and Zibilene, all of whom hail from the Maktoum family’s Godolphin operation.

Could the crowds at Epsom Downs on Derby Day 2010 be ringing to the cries of ‘Waterloo’ or ‘Mama Mia’? That is certainly a possibility, as former Abba member Benny Andersson has an entry. Trained by John Dunlop, the Montjeu colt was a 650,000 guineas purchase at Tattersalls in October.

Andrew Cooper, Director of Racing at Epsom Downs, commented: “In recent years the general trend has been for owners to make fewer entries at the yearling stage for the Derby and the figure of 388 for 2010 is down against the 474 received for the 2009 renewal.

“It would appear that this year some smaller owners have decided not to enter their yearlings at historic levels, happy in the knowledge that if they have a horse good enough then a Derby entry can be made in April of his or her three-year-old career. We saw a record 13 horses enter the Derby at that stage this year, when the fee is £8,000 compared to £325 at the yearling stage

”Yearling entry remains the most cost-effective way of entering the Derby and we would like to thank all the owners and trainers who have supported the premier Classic in this way for 2010.”

The cost of an initial entry at the yearling stage was £325, with the next forfeit stage on March 2, 2010, when connections pay an additional £1,000 to remain engaged. There is another confirmation stage on May 21, 2010, when a payment of £3,000 is required with a final payment of £2,500 at the five-day confirmation stage. The are two other options to enter a horse in the 2010 Derby. The first is to pay £8,000 at the second entry stage on April 6, 2010, followed by £10,000 on May 21, 2010 and £2,500 at the five-day confirmation stage. The final method of entry is to pay the supplementary entry fee of £75,000 on May 31, 2010.

Andrew Cooper continued: “The Derby entry system is reviewed internally on an annual basis. It has three fundamental objectives – to assist in ensuring that the race remains the most valuable Classic in Europe, to ensure that the opportunity exists for the best horses of their generation to compete, however late their development into Classic contenders, and to enable smaller owners to buy into the “Derby dream” at a comparatively low price.

“One can only judge the success of the system against these criteria once all stages, including the supplementary entry in race week itself, have taken place. The system will be kept under review going forward but has served Epsom and the race well for many years.”

DERBY 2010

Previous winning owners - number of entries

Ballymacoll Stud (2004 North Light) - 3 (5 in 2009)

Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum (1989 Nashwan, 1994 Erhaab) - 35 (46 in 2009)

H H Aga Khan (1981 Shergar, 1986 Shahrastani, 1988 Kahyasi, 2000 Sinndar) - 25 (27 in 2009)

Royal Ascot Racing Club (2005 Motivator) - 1 (1 in 2009)

Saeed Suhail (2003 Kris Kin) - 6 (5 in 2009)

Derrick Smith/Michael Tabor/Sue Magnier (2001 Galileo, 2002 High Chaparral) - 72 (71 in 2009)

Other leading owners

Jaber Abdullah - 5 (5 in 2009)

Benny Anderson - 1 (0 in 2009)

Godolphin - 31 (32 in 2009)

HRH Sultan Ahmad Shah - 5 (1 in 2009)

Highclere Thoroughbred Racing - 9 (9 in 2009)

Niarchos Family - 6 (6 in 2009)

The Queen - 3 (5 in 2009)