Timeform's David Johnson reacts to the changes to the Betfred Derby Festival

By David Johnson

Horse Racing

Fri December 12, 2025 · 18h ago

Timeform Lead Flat Analyst David Johnson looks at the changes to the race programme at the Betfred Derby Festival.

The Derby meeting is the perfect place to showcase the prestige and heritage of British racing, but for several years, the sport has been guilty of taking that for granted. To maintain its position in the public consciousness or even grow, it’s important to look forward as well as back and that is what these changes to an ailing meeting do.

Investing in prize money at the top level while issues at the mid and lower tiers remain won’t be met with universal approval but it is vital that racecourses are doing all they can to attract the very best and prove competitive on an international scale, and the investment in prize money in the Derby and Coronation Cup do just that.

This comes hot on the heels of news of prize money increases for both the King George and Juddmonte International too and creates a modern-day Triple Crown type competition where winners of the Coronation Cup and Derby will hopefully take each other on in these events later in the season, giving trainers good reason to keep their horses on the go throughout the summer not simply aiming for valuable autumn targets abroad.

Adding the Coronation Cup to the Derby Day card is an upgrade that was desperately needed. The Derby itself has been forced into doing too much heavy lifting to uphold the fixture by itself in recent years and as racing looks to use extra data to enhance its appeal, being able to make direct comparisons between the two races is a big positive.

Rehoming the John of Gaunt from Haydock to create the Tattenham Corner Stakes also looks a positive move, this Group 3 acting as the perfect launchpad to the Group 2 Lennox and Group 1 Sky Bet City of York at later summer Festivals and though Haydock members might disagree, I’d have gone further and added the Temple Stakes to the card.

Make it a big deal about attracting the best sprinters to the fastest 5f track in the world, although perhaps this lacked buy-in from trainers given the meeting’s proximity to the King Charles III at Royal Ascot.

Changes off track also look positive. Again, not all these will meet universal approval with talk of musical acts and other live entertainment on The Hill, but increasing numbers through the gate gives the sport the chance to create new fans, whatever their main motivation for that initial visit. Free car parking and free admission to under 18s in the General Admission area are other moves in the right direction.

What is most encouraging is how these changes are being made through cross-collaboration between Jockey Club Racecourses, racegoers, annual members, sponsors and other key stakeholders. At a time when so many stakeholders in the sport continue to be fragmented this is surely the blueprint for how the sport can work together for the greater good in the future.

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