If there were to be a movie made about the Derby, then the 1844 renewal would make the ideal script. The winner was Running Rein who was actually a four-year-old horse named Maccabeus (it would be too complicated to go into how the horses were switched.) When Running Rein/Maccabeus won as a two-year-old, there were objections as to the proper identity of the horse, but they could not be proven. The horse was owned by a nefarious individual named William Goodman Levy and was later transferred to corn merchant Alexander Wood to avoid suspicion. There were strong doubts even in the days leading up to the Derby, and the stewards were asked to have a veterinarian examine Running Rein. Amazingly, their decision was to allow the horse to run with the proviso that, if he won, then an examination would take place before distributing the purse. At any rate, Running Rein won the race and a court hearing was soon held afterwards. Wood could not produce 'his' horse, Levy had fled to France, and Orlando was declared the winner. For good measure, the jockey aboard the favorite was thought to have been bribed, the second favorite was doped, and Leander, who may have been anywhere from a four to six-year-old, broke a leg.

Long traffic jams of horse-drawn coaches characterized transport to the early Derbys. Trains from London to Epsom made their first appearance in 1847. As there were far more people interested in the new service than available trains, many were left behind at the rail station. Even the trains themselves were unable to carry the loads with the result that cars had to be un-hooked thus stranding more fans. In the event, Cossack won the race out of a field of 32 horses.

Lord George Bentinck was a sort of self-appointed guardian of the turf who tried to bring some order and rules into the sport (it was he who pursued justice in the Running Rein affair.) After many unsuccessful attempts to win the Derby, he sold off his racing stock in 1846. Alas, one of those horses was Surplice who won in 1848 under the ownership of Lord Clifden. As recounted in The Daily Telegraph:

Two days before the Derby Bentinck had lost a long and hard-fought campaign in the House of Commons. On the day after the Derby, as he was standing dejectedly in the Commons library, his friend and colleague Benjamin Disraeli approached him to offer consolation. Bentinck asserted that Disraeli did not appreciate the importance of the Derby. Disraeli, who was very proud of the blue Garter sash he had recently been accorded, made his famous reply: "Indeed I do, it is the blue ribband of the Turf."

The Nineteenth Century 1851-1900

The Derbys in the 1850s were fairly 'quiet' compared with the previous decade. The two most notable were: West Australian who won in 1853 the 2000 Guineas, the Derby, and the St. Leger to become the first 'Triple Crown' winner; and the filly Blink Bonny who captured the Oaks on May 27, 1857 and the Derby held two days later.

The 1860s saw the return of some famous renewals. In 1865 French-bred Gladiateur won the Triple Crown. He would later score victories in France's then most prestigious race, the Grand Prix de Paris, and the Gold Cup at Ascot by 40 lengths (after trailing by 300 yards at one point.) Stockwell repeated Sir Peter Teazle's feat by siring the first three finishers in the 1866 Derby. In fact he went one better as the winner, Lord Lyon, won the Triple Crown.

The 1867 Derby would make for another fine movie although less for the race itself than for the people involved. Hermit was owned by Henry Chaplin who was engaged to the highly popular and sought after Lady Florence Paget. She caused one of the great social scandals, however, by eloping with the 4th Marquess of Hastings. Hastings, known for his heavy gambling, bet a fortune against Hermit winning the Derby, and all seemed well for him especially when the horse broke a blood vessel in the days leading up to the race. Alas, Hermit got up to win the Derby, run in a snowstorm, by a neck thereby costing Hastings the modern-day equivalent of over 3 million pounds (5 million dollars.) True there was a rivalry between the two, but Hastings was among the first to congratulate the connections in the winners' enclosure. He would die the next year at age 26. On his deathbed, Hastings is reported to have said, "Hermit fairly killed me, but I didn't let it show, did I?"

From 1784-1871 the Derby had been run at 1½ miles but over two different courses on Epsom Downs. Cremorne won the Derby in 1872 over the course that Derby runners have contested until the present day. The modern-day description gives one an idea of what the horses encounter:

The Derby course is in the shape of a horseshoe, run left-handed. From the start there is a right-handed bend and a rise of some 140 feet followed by about 3 furlongs of level ground at the top of the Hill, before the turning descent into Tattenham Corner into the finishing straight of 3 ½ furlongs. The downhill gradient continues, falling a total of 100 feet until 100 yards from the finish, where the ground levels and rises another 3 feet before the winning post.

The 1876 Derby winner Kisber remains the only Hungarian-bred winner of an English classic race. Bend Or, victorious in the 1880 running, later sired the unbeaten Triple Crown winner Ormonde. Even with Bend Or, there were doubts as to whether he was really a horse called Tadcaster. Four years later in 1884 saw another dead-heat for the Blue Ribband between Harvester and St. Gatien. This time, however, there was no run off. Yet, this Derby is famous for it featured one of the greatest horses never to run in the Derby or any other classic: St. Simon. Rules back then dictated that if a horse's owner died then all his engagements were cancelled. Thus, the death of St. Simon's owner, Prince Batthyany, prevented him from attaining greatness as measured by success in the Classics. (Even Batthyany doubted St. Simon's stamina and only entered him in the 2000 Guineas.) As a testament to his ability, St. Simon won the Gold Cup at Ascot as a three-year-old; he would eventually sire the winners of 17 classic races.

Continues........

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