DERBY, CHELMSFORD & SAVILL.

We should congratulate those in authority who have finally recognised that the Epsom Derby is going out of fashion and pat them on the back for attempting to right the ship before rescue becomes an impossible task I just hope no one working for I.T.V. during its coverage from Epsom uses the hackneyed and obsolete phrase 'greatest race in the world' because the Epsom Derby has fallen a long way down the international pecking order.

If anyone had access to the archive of this website, which they have not due to my decision when having the site buffed and polished a few months ago to only back-date the archive to the start of February 2026, would discover that I have banged-on about the decline of the Epsom Derby since 2018. The demise began when Epsom and the B.H.A. submitted to the calls of the bookmaking industry to have the Derby run on a Saturday instead of its historic date of the first Wednesday in June. Nothing good has come from this alteration to racing history and it is perhaps too late to restore the Derby's glory by simply returning the race to a Wednesday, though why a Sunday is not being considered is beyond me as there is far less chance of the race being up against another great sporting event on a Sunday than on a Saturday.

Having watched on YouTube Francesca Cumani and Vanessa Ryle' Running Loose podcast and what is proposed to entice the multitude to Epsom and the Downs, I lack any hope or expectation for a revival in Epsom's fortunes any time soon. Ibetha comes to Epsom sounds pretty horrific to my ears.

From all directions I keep hearing that the French Derby - not a true Derby due to the distance not being over the traditional 12-furlongs - is now the sexy Derby, apparently, the stallion-making Derby. My radical suggestion of upgrading the Eclipse to classic status could act in Epsom's favour, allowing it to become the stallion-making race and tempting more connections to give Epsom a go safe in the knowledge that could go back in distance in the Eclipse. Why  must there only be five classics? Why not six? Personally, and, yes, this would require Royal consent, but I would have the Derby after Royal Ascot, that would spread the classics out a bit more and allow trainers more time to prepare their Epsom colts and fillies. As tradition has already been kicked down the street, anything should be on the table when it comes to reinvigorating the Epsom Derby, except reducing the distance of the race.

Let Chelmsford go, I say. There must be a jinx on the place given it has failed twice as a racecourse. It is not really  needed and in letting the course go, the fixture list will be reduced by over 30-fixtures and that, as all concerned agree, would be the first stepping stone on the path to saving our sport.

Until someone else from within the sport pops his head above the parapet as a prospective candidate for the post of B.H.A. chairman, the sport should get fully behind Peter Savill and twist the arm of the B.H.A. to simply give him the job and not bother interviewing anyone else for the position. I would ask Peter Savill in his first day of duty to ask, cajole or hold to ransom, Mark Johnston to be his assistant or second-in-command, with the intention at the end of Savill's tenure to be appointed in his place. Mark Johnston is exactly the right sort of person the sport needs at this moment of time on the board of the B.H.A. No one might always agree with his ideas and opinions but he is a man who gets things done, knows the sport inside out and suffers no fools. A Peter Savill/Mark Johnston axis would solve the majority of racing's problems in the first year of their tenure. But then as opposed to the two of them, I am a naive fool with too much to say for myself.