The Derby will move away from its traditional yearling entry stage and will operate on a solely three-year-old entry system from the 2024 running of the Classic.
A statement released on Thursday by Jockey Club Racecourses, which owns Epsom Downs, home of the Derby and the Oaks, read, “The move comes following discussion with stakeholders and after a three-year-old only entry system worked well for the 2022 race, when the yearling entry stage due to take place in 2020 was not considered feasible due to the pandemic.
“As such, the yearling entry stage for the 2024 race which would traditionally take place in early December will not take place. Further information regarding the prize fund, entry stages and structure for the 2024 Derby will be available via the usual process and publications next year, including the Flat Pattern Book and Programme Book.”
In 2021, online car retailer Cazoo was announced as the new sponsor of the Derby meeting, but that arrangement has now come to an end. Next year's Derby, which closed for yearling entries last December, has a prize-money pool of £1.5 million. The remaining entry stages will be at the traditional stages next spring.
“The yearling entry system is something we have always considered annually before confirming, as we are constantly striving to ensure all aspects of The Derby are optimised for changing behaviours and trends within the sport and the wider world,” said Andrew Cooper, head of racing and clerk of the course at Epsom Downs.
“The pandemic gave us an opportunity to test whether a three-year-old system would work, and having consulted participants prior to, during and since it took place earlier this year, our view is that the increased flexibility that removing the yearling stage brings is more reflective of how trainers and owners now tend to operate.”
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