When experts give Epsom Derby tips and predictions, they’re trying to pick the winner of a very important horse race. The premier Classic in the UK has had some turn-ups in it down the years too, so this is our guide to tipping in the Epsom Downs Racecourse feature.
Latest Epsom Derby Betting Tips
Why The Epsom Derby Tips Matter
When you look at tips for The Derby on Epsom Downs in Surrey, the horses discussed are expected to have big futures both on and off the track. There’s no single horse racing event in the UK today with more significance. The reason for that is simple. Winners of the Epsom Derby go on to have careers at stud.
Their influence as sires of Flat racing thoroughbreds of tomorrow cannot be understated. Galileo and Sea The Stars are just two famous examples of Epsom Derby winners tipped up by experts this century who impacted the landscape of the sport. Both prolific at stud, their progeny have won countless Group races in recent years.
Only subsequent horse racing results reveal whether a Derby winner has made it in the bloodstock and breeding industry. Finishing first comes with the lion’s share of the more than £1,000,000 purse at over £850,000 as the prize. With so much money at stake, now you can see why Epsom Derby tips matter beyond simply you finding the winner.
As an age restricted race just for three-year-olds, The Derby is almost exclusively contested by colts. Fillies can run in the Epsom Oaks over the same course and distance 24 hours earlier. When considering who to put forward in their horse racing tips on the Epsom Derby, experts must consider from and potential progress. You see the best UK sportsbooks to wager with below:
Best Epsom Derby Betting Sites
Bet £10 Get £50 In Free Bets
- Derby odds all year round
- Ante post specials
- Price Promise covers Epsom
Bet £10 Get £20 In Free Bets
- Ante post betting market
- Classic specials include The Derby
- Stream The Derby for free with funded account
£25 Free Bet + 10 Free Spins
- Derby betting ante post
- Money back as free bet if 2nd to SP fav
- Live stream The Derby for free
Bet £10 Get £20 + Free Bet If 2nd To SP Fav
- Full ante post Derby odds
- Classic specials feature The Derby
- BOG from day before race
50% of First Day Losses Back As a Free Bet Up To £25
- Ante post market for The Derby
- Free bet refund deals
- New UK horse racing bookie
Bet £10 Get £60 in Bonuses
- Ante post Derby betting on offer
- Rewards 4 Racing points when you bet
- Bonus King bookie
Bet £10, Get £30 in Free Bets
- Ante post market on The Derby
- Daily specials available
- Newcomers to UK betting
100% Up to £50 + 25 Spins
- Ante post Derby market
- Bet on other Derby Festival races
- First deposit welcome bonus
Bet £30 Get £30 Free Bet + £5 Casino Chips
- Derby ante post market
- Some horse racing specials
- New online bookies for horse racing
Bet £10, Get £30 In Free Bets + £10 Casino Bonus
- Ante post odds for The Derby
- BetFinder and BetFeed tools
- Watch & Bet on The Derby
Already claimed these betting offers? Check out all the latest best betting sites and read The Derby betting tips.
2022 Epsom Derby Tips
Things were shaken up in the 2022 Epsom Derby betting when long-time ante-post favourite Luxembourg suffered a setback. This followed a fine third in another of the British Classics, the 2000 Guineas. Luxembourg’s trainer, Aidan O’Brien, who has a record eight wins in The Derby revealed the news whilst other inmates of his Ballydoyle stables in Ireland impressed in recognised Epsom trials.
The Derby tips that experts give need to reflect this absence. Luxembourg will likely miss the summer but come back into training for an autumn campaign following box rest. In his absence plenty of other three-year-old colts advertised their claims of Classic glory, leaving tipsters with plenty to ponder.
Epsom Derby 2022 tips have form lines from both the UK and Ireland to consider. Both nations have their trials run in springtime, although it isn’t always necessarily the winners to take out of those races. After all, it’s all about trainers and jockeys getting their horses right for Derby day itself and not the prep run.
This year’s Epsom Derby tips must remember one thing. There could be even more to come from the three-year-olds who may have just had the one outing before the big race. Every horse wants to be at peak performance on the day of the big race. Winning en route to The Derby doesn’t do their chances any harm, though.
Cazoo Derby Tips – The Leading Contenders
Most 2022 Epsom Derby tips surround one or other of the leading contenders, so it’s worth looking at their profiles in more details. Here are the first four in the ante post betting now that all major Classic trials have taken place:
Desert Crown
Desert Crown- Trainer: Sir Michael Stoute
- Owner: Saeed Suhail
- Sire: Nathaniel
- Dam: Desert Berry
- Form: 1-1
- Derby odds: 9/4 with Betfred
It has been 12 years since Sir Michael Stoute last won The Derby adding a fifth victory in the premier Classic with Workforce (2010). Like 2003 winner Kris Kin, Desert Crown represents the stable and the same owner in Saeed Suhail. Stoute is known for getting the horses in his Newmarket yard to improve with age and experience.
A lightly-raced son of Nathaniel, sire of wonder-mare Enable who won the Epsom Oaks and many other famous 1m 4f races, Desert Crown is unbeaten in two starts. He beat last year’s Acomb Stakes and Royal Lodge winner Royal Patronage comfortably up north in the Group 2 Dante Stakes at York races on reappearance.
Desert Crown is still open to any amount of further progress after just a couple of career outings. There was a similar margin between him and the third home in the Dante, Bluegrass, as there was from that one to Piz Badile in Ireland. As a result, Desert Crown will feature prominently among the tips for the Epsom Derby.
Stone Age
Stone Age- Trainer: Aidan O’Brien
- Owner: Peter Brandt and Coolmore partners (J Magnier, M Tabor, D Smith)
- Sire: Galileo
- Dam: Bonanza Creek
- Form: 262-11
- Derby odds: 9/2 with BoyleSports
Highly-tried as a juvenile last year, Stone Age has done what so many Ballydoyle inmates by Galileo have before him – improved in his three-year-old campaign. A gallant runner-up in both the Champions Juvenile Stakes at Leopardstown and Criterium de Saint-Cloud in the autumn, he has built on those efforts this spring.
Stone Age is by the proven sire of champions, staying on into second over 1m 2f in Group 1 company last October. Back on good ground this year, he has not only shed the maiden tag impressively at Navan but followed-up with another all the way win in the official Group 3 Derby Trial at Leopardstown.
It’s worth noting that Stone Age has been an odds-on favourite with the bookies for those victories. While what he has beaten can be questioned, there is no doubting the impressive visual impression his wins created. Some Epsom Derby tips suggest Stone Age may be the best value among the market principals.
Nations Pride
Nations Pride- Trainer: Charlie Appleby
- Owner: Godolphin
- Sire: Teofilo
- Dam: Important Time
- Form: 211-11
- Derby odds: 13/2 with QuinnBet
It had been a goal of the powerful global Godolphin operation to win The Derby for many years. Those ambitions were realised in 2018 when Masar delivered in the premier Classic. Sheikh Mohammed’s retained trainer Charlie Appleby also sent out the 2021 Epsom Derby hero Adayar, so Nations Pride bids to follow up.
Just like 12 months ago, it’s possible that Godolphin and Appleby will be tripled-handed in the race. However, connections have supplemented Nations Pride at a cost of £75,000. He joins owner-stable companions Nahanni and Walk Of Stars in the Epsom Derby line-up. A dual All-Weather winner at Lingfield races and then Chelmsford City last autumn, this colt by Teofilo stepped up on his juvenile form in the spring.
Nations Pride wintered in the Middle East and landed the Jumeirah Derby at Meydan out there in February. He then built on that success with an easy seven-length victory in the Newmarket Stakes over 10 furlongs during the Guineas Festival. Despite only winning in small fields, the top horse racing betting sites respect Nations Pride and he will also be among Epsom Derby tips for this year’s premier Classic.
Piz Badile
Piz Badile- Trainer: Donnacha O’Brien
- Owner: Flaxman Stables Ireland (Niarchos family)
- Sire: Ulysses
- Dam: That Which Is Not
- Form: 12-1
- Derby odds: 11/1 with Bet365
While Donnacha O’Brien didn’t win the Epsom Derby during his short riding career, he did land the Irish equivalent. Issues with his height and weight led to him becoming a trainer in his early 20s and Piz Badile could be the best colt in his care to date. Connections have already snapped up high-profile Frankie Dettori for the ride.
Piz Badile needed a mile last summer after scoring at that distance around Killarney. There probably wasn’t a Group race in the pattern far enough for him as a two-year-old, but he avenged his defeat by Duke De Sessa in the Eyrefield Stakes in the autumn in the 1m2f Ballysax also at Leopardstown on his return.
What was so taking about that display from Piz Badile was the way he battled back when challenged for the lead inside the final furlong. He got up in the final strides. The 1m 4f course and distance of the Epsom Derby was something sire Ulysses didn’t handle. That is the only concern relating to Piz Badile and his talented young trainer.
Changingoftheguard
Changingoftheguard- Trainer: Aidan O’Brien
- Owner: Westerberg and Coolmore partners (J Magnier, M Tabor, D Smith)
- Sire: Galileo
- Dam: Lady Lara
- Form: 452-11
- Derby odds: 9/1 with William Hill
O’Brien senior will have more than one iron in the fire on Epsom Downs, so Stone Age’s stablemate and unchallenged Chester Vase hero Changingoftheguard has his own claims. There are no stamina doubts here with this Group 3-winning son of Galileo. The Derby trip is no problem, it’s just a matter of his front-running style in a race of this magnitude.
Changingoftheguard has made all, setting his own fractions on both of his successes as a three-year-old so far. He may not have it all his own way at the head of affairs at Epsom. Changingoftheguard is also likely to encounter a much larger field than the four and six-runner races he landed en route to the premier Classic.
When Luxembourg was still in contention for The Derby, that horse carried the same Westerberg silks as this one. Changingoftheguard could’ve been the ideal pacemaker, but plans have changed. Those putting him forward in Epsom Derby tips will point to O’Brien unleashing Serpentine on the front end in this race two years ago.
Epsom Derby Day Tips
Now that you’ve seen some of the Epsom Derby 2022 tips, it’s also worth remembering there is more than one race on the card. We’re not saying that The Derby isn’t the main event but there are other opportunities to have a bet as well.
While you consider the Epsom Derby tips put forward here, think about the rest of the action as well. The Derby is a two-day festival with another Classic headlining the Friday card too. That is the Epsom Oaks with horse racing betting tips available on that feature race for fillies too.
Take the Epsom Dash, a Heritage Handicap sprint, for example. While The Derby betting tips demand a horse with stamina and speed, winning this 5f contest that is over inside a minute is all about pace. There is also the fact that the Epsom Dash isn’t off level weights like The Derby to consider as well.
Epsom Derby day tips also look at two Group 3 races over an extended mile in the Princess Elizabeth Stakes for fillies and mares and the Diomed Stakes. The latter race honours the memory of the first-ever Derby winner of the same name from way back in 1780. There are also other handicaps at Epsom races today to bet on, so look out for tips on those.
Top Tips for The Epsom Derby
Before we’re through here, we also wanted to pass on some general Epsom Derby tips to you. These come with no guarantees of course, but following the advice we asked our experts for can at least help you reach better decisions when betting on the big race. Follow these pointers when looking for a horse to bet on in The Derby:
Follow the Trials
By keeping a close eye on recognised Derby trials, you can see how the betting develops. Classic contenders come to the fore and fall by the wayside as each prep race for Epsom comes throughout the spring. All tips for The Derby that you encounter will be based on experts doing the same thing, assessing the action.
You may spot a horse running an eye-catching race in defeat to take forward to Epsom, especially if they are staying on strongly at the finish over 1m 2f. Remember, it is not all about the bare result of the trials. All good Epsom Derby tips will tell you that.
Check Horses’ Pedigrees
Breeding is an underrated aspect of helping to find you winners. If a horse is to be successful in The Derby, then it needs stamina, speed and a touch of class. Potential clues to all of this can be found in the pedigree. Looking at what the sire and dam, that’s the father and mother in layman’s terms, did on the track may provide answers.
When giving horse racing tips for betting on the Epsom Derby, the experts all consider breeding carefully. They won’t put forward a horse with dubious stamina or something by a sire that disappointed in The Derby. With a bit of research, you can discover which of this year’s blueblood thoroughbreds may be best suited by this unique test.
Consider Potential Improvers
There is often so little form to actually go on, compared to National Hunt horses anyway, that Epsom Derby betting tips are often based on potential progress. Racehorses improve at different rates and times, so there’s no exact science here. It is worth remembering that most will strip fitter for a prep run.
Horses seldom go to The Derby unraced in the spring. They have to be at their best to win a race at this elite level. Progress is everything and that suits stables that have target trainers. The Epsom Derby tips you read will often assume improvement in a horse from its two-year-old days or from race to race.
Look at Temperament
Epsom Downs and Derby day is both a big day out and tough track for young horses to handle. The course is an undulating one with twists and turns. It doesn’t suit every horse, nor does this major sporting occasion. Some blow their chances by acting up in the preliminaries, being keen on their way to post or in the early stages of the race.
You can’t know how horses will behave beforehand, but any previous win at Epsom is a plus when considering The Derby tips offered. Avoid any horses with a history of misbehaving in the stalls or pulling too hard. As much equine energy as possible should be conserved for the business end of the race.
Best UK Betting Site for the Epsom Derby
Bet £10 Get £50 In Free Bets
- Derby odds all year round
- Ante post specials
- Price Promise covers Epsom
FAQs
Who is the favourite for the Epsom Derby?
What is the best draw at Epsom for The Derby?
What is the fastest time ever for the Epsom Derby?
Can geldings run in the Epsom Derby?
