A £2m prize fund and free parking: Epsom’s Derby reboot prepares for its first test
Fans and professionals alike are desperate for positivity after last year’s damp squib, but there is reason for hope
One of the major benefits of announcing a “five-year plan” is that it should buy you some time but Epsom’s ambitious scheme to revive the status and popularity of the Derby, which was unveiled in December, may be an exception. There were just 22,312 paying spectators at last year’s race, and the need for an upturn in attendance for the 247th running of the Classic on Saturday is immediate.
In part, this is because the Derby still retains a special place in the hearts and memories of many of the sport’s most committed fans, and its steady decline over the last couple of decades has been painfully obvious to all of us who still cherish the annual pilgrimage to Epsom in the first week of June. There is a collective need for signs of a revival.