Lester Piggott to create more Epsom history with plan to run Derby in his honour

This week's Cazoo Derby will be run in honour of Lester Piggott as Epsom prepares to pay tribute to the legendary jockey, who died aged 86 on Sunday.

The gesture will serve to commemorate Piggott's exemplary record at the track and marks the first time the race will be named and run in honour of an individual.

A winner of 30 Classic races in his career, Piggott enjoyed half of those successes at Epsom over a thirty-year span between 1954 and 1984, including six Oaks victories and a record nine Derby wins.

Final nod to a grand tradition as thoughts of Lester Piggott dominate Derby week

The Jockey Club's London regional director Phil White said: "No jockey is more synonymous with our most famous race than Lester Piggott. Running the Cazoo Derby in his memory, which we believe has not been done in the 242 previous editions of the race, is a fitting tribute to one of the greatest jockeys of the modern era and the record-holder for most wins by a rider.

Lester Piggott's statue at Epsom racecourseCredit: Edward Whitaker

"We want to give racegoers on both days the opportunity to pay their respects and celebrate the life and career of this extraordinary sportsman, and we hope that taking the unprecedented step of re-naming the Derby shows the high esteem in which Lester is held.

"I would like to thank our sponsors Cazoo for accommodating this request and we hope Friday and Saturday will allow for a fitting tribute to one of the icons of our sport."

Jockeys will also sport black armbands on Friday and Saturday and a minute's silence will be held 45 minutes before the opening race on Friday.

A wreath sporting the racing colours of Nijinsky – one of Piggott's most illustrious partnerships – will be placed at the foot of Piggott's life-size bronze statue, which was unveiled in 2019 at the Queen Elizabeth II Stand Lawn.

Another minute's silence will additionally be held at 4pm on Saturday ahead of the Derby, which will be officially renamed this year to the Cazoo Derby (in memory of Lester Piggott).

The race could feature as many as 18 runners this year after Nations Pride and El Habeeb were supplemented for the Classic at Monday's confirmation stage.

Nations Pride enters the Derby field as third favourite and will be the mount of William Buick, the rider confirmed on Monday. Nations Pride leads a trio of Godolphin hopefuls, with Walk Of Stars and Nahanni also running for last year's winning trainer Charlie Appleby.

Cazoo Derby: entries, racecard and betting

Lingfield Derby Trial winner United Nations was a notable absentee from Monday's confirmations. His trainer Aidan O'Brien, who is seeking to emulate Piggott with a ninth Derby victory, is set to rely on Stone Age, Changingoftheguard and Star Of India.

Lysander, Buckaroo, Ivy League and Sir Bob Parker were also left out at the confirmation stage, with final declarations due on Thursday.

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