Derby Festival News
Friday 3rd & Saturday 4th June 2016

The Investec Derby prize fund boost ed to £1.5 million
06/11/15

Epsom Downs Racecourse today announced that prize money for the Investec Derby will be boosted to £1.5 million in 2017 as an investment in the future of Britain's richest race.

Yearling entries for the 238th running of the Investec Derby, Britain's premier Classic, on Saturday, June 3, 2017, close at noon on Tuesday, December 1, 2015.

The prize fund for the 237th Investec Derby on Saturday, June 4, 2016 has already been advertised at £1.325 million (prior to any supplementary entries).

Andrew Cooper, Head of Racing for Jockey Club Racecourses' London Region and Clerk of the Course at Epsom Downs Racecourse, commented: "We are proud the Investec Derby is the most prestigious Flat race in the world and the one owners, trainers and jockeys want to win.

"We are continuing to invest in its status and one aspect of that important both to us and to our long-term partners, Investec, is to ensure the Classic remains the richest race in Britain.

"Therefore, we have decided on a sizeable prize money increase of just over 13 percent to £1.5 million for 2017, the first year we can act because of the unique yearling entry system for the race.

"The cost of entering a horse for the 2017 Investec Derby as a yearling by December 1 rises from £500 to £560. "

The entry system will be the same as before, with the yearling stage followed by two more entry opportunities. These both come in the year of the race, with an additional entry stage on April 4, 2017, costing £9,000 (previously £8,000) and the supplementary entry stage, five days beforehand, on Monday, May 29, 2017, rising to £85,000 from £75,000.

Andrew Cooper added: "The 2015 winner Golden Horn is another example of how the Investec Derby continues to attract the best three-year-olds in Europe. His impressive victory at Epsom Downs on the first Saturday in June and excellent subsequent performances mean he is the second highest-rated horse globally this year."