Ode to Epsom
02.06.11
By John P. Sparkman
Like many other classic races around the world, the Belmont Stakes (G1) was modeled on the Epsom Derby (Eng-G1), which will be run for the 232nd time tomorrow—if you count wartime Derbys that were run at Newmarket in 1915-18 and 1940-45.
More accurately known simply as the Derby Stakes, the true father of all classic races is the third-oldest classic in the world. Both the St. Leger Stakes (Eng-G1), founded in 1776, and the Derby's companion race for fillies, the Epsom Oaks (Eng-G1), inaugurated a year earlier than the Derby, are older.
The Derby, however, always has been the most prestigious horse race in England, and that is why virtually every country around the world copied it as closely as local conditions allowed.
France came first, kicking off the Prix du Jockey-Club (Fr-G1) as the French equivalent of the Derby in 1836, and other countries followed almost as soon as their racing programs stabilized.
In many cases it was the invention of local Derbys, as well as echoes of the other English classics, the Oaks, Two Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1), One Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1), and St. Leger, that formed the foundation for stabilizing those racing and breeding programs.
Source: Thoroughbred Times