The Epsom Derby

The Epsom Derby, a contest of such moment that a horse worth a few thousand pounds at the outset of the race may increase in value a hundredfold by the finish, lays claim to the title of world's greatest sporting event. Dating back to 1780, this one-and-a-half-mile competition is not so much a race as it is a national institution: it ranks in an Englishman's esteem with afternoon tea and Buckingham Palace. With the betting ranging from a few bob to thousands of pounds, there is hardly an onlooker in the cheering crowd who doesn't have something at stake as the horses make that last straining effort down the straightaway from famous Tattenham Corner.Artist-observer LeRoy Neiman notes that "suit-rental emporiums in London and vicinity are besieged long before Derby Day by all who can't afford the traditional morning coats, top hats, waistcoats and other sartorial appurtenances called for by this socially prestigious occasion. From the reigning monarch to the lowliest commoner, everyone who can manage to be there is there. Throngs jam the trains to Epsom, 15 miles from the heart of London: as early as six in the morning the vast parking areas begin to fill with endless streams of cars and motor coaches." The milieu is an olio of the elegant and the plebeian, as entire families come upon the scene with picnic baskets to make a day of it. Tents and booths blossom all over the grounds, purveying anything from chilled champagne to hot sausages, while the nobility pays its respects to the Queen in the Royal Box, where, as England's most illustrious improver of the breed, she oversees one of her country's oldest and proudest events.