Heads its Derby and tails its Bunbury - By Chaiti Narula | DNA
Posted on - 26 Jan 2017
Heads it's Derby and tails it's Bunbury
- By Chaiti Narula
The Indian Derby is just around the corner. I often come across people who say lets go to the derby to find out they're attending a class 4 handicap race.
Every race is not the derby. What is a derby? A derby by definition is the biggest horse race of the country. It is the second leg of a triple crown preceded by the 2000 Guineas and followed by the St Leger.
It is the richest race of any country and the best of the classic races. It is the ‘Blue Ribband' of horse racing. So why was it called the Derby? Quite an interesting tale passed on from generation to generation in horse racing. It was Sir Charles Bunbury, the president of the Jockey Club who was invited to the house of the 12th Earl of Derby over dinner. The house interestingly was called the Oaks. The Oaks for the benefit of the readers is the classic that races before the derby and is the ladies derby.
Coming back from the stray, Lord Bunbury and the 12th Earl of the Derby wanted to know what to call the biggest race of the country, back in the day when it was open to three-year-old colts and fillies run over the distance of a mile.
It was Lord Derby who won the toss of the coin and that's how they named it the Derby Stakes which incidentally had Lord Bunbury's horse Diomed as the winner.
The first Derby was run on May 4, 1780 and was eventually extended to a mile and half from the Year 1784.
The Indian derby inspired from the English racing calendar is a race run over a distance of 2,400 metres for four-year-old, class 1 colts and fillies and has the highest stake money from all races across the country. The Royal Western India Turf Club at the Mahalakshmi Racecourse hosts the Indian Derby each year. All other centres host regional derby.
Come first weekend of February, and Mumbai will play host to the Indian Derby. Get the best suits, dresses and hats, fascinators and the fedoras out and head to the races now that you know what you are going for. Be rest assured its open to the entire country and has stands packed to the rafters each year.
(Writer is an anchor at WION and a horse racing enthusiast)
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