The Jockey Club had a strange announcement at the start of this week, surrounding the Epsom Derby, and the declaration timing for the contest.

From this season, the declarations for the race will be made 72 hours before the race, which means we’ll know the Derby field just after 10 am on the Wednesday morning of that week.

What this does is it gives us the Derby and Oaks fields on the same morning, good for news, but that’s not the reason for this change.

Time to Build Derby Excitement at Home & Abroad

The reasoning behind this move from the Jockey Club was that it would allow more time for excitement to build ahead of the Derby, with known competitors being a part of that.

I’m all for it. In the same release, the Jockey Club proudly boasted that the 2024 Derby was broadcast by a record 36 broadcasters in 160 territories, and that’s also partly behind this, too.

I’ve got no problems with British racing trying to shift things around to make it easier to market to the rest of the world, though I know some have. This was one of the main points around the ending of 24-hour declarations, back when they were scrapped in favour of 48 hours.

The Derby has been at the front of many changes in racing, the first race broadcast live, the first race broadcast into homes, and now it’ll be the first race with 72-hour declarations. Being one of the richest races in the world, it’s no surprise to see new things like this targeted at Epsom’s showpiece.

While I don’t think this is a test, I think it’s here to stay for the Derby, I do think this is a pointer towards where racing is heading, if declaration times move, it’ll only be done to give more time in between, rather than less.

Derby Draw to Also Receive Facelift on Back of Declaration Changes

As part of the changes, it has also been announced that due to the knock-on of this, we’ll be able to get an enhanced Derby draw on Thursday morning before the race.

This is going to be an ‘FA Cup’ style draw, using the mechanics used for that competition, and it will be broadcast live so that people can watch along to see where their runners will be placed.

This would not have been possible really, with the old 48-hour declarations, and again, if this proves to be a success with viewers, either at home or abroad, then it’s another reason to move decs to 72 hours for some other flat races that are on the calendar.

Trainers Offer Mixed Reaction

Aidan O’Brien was quick to come out and say that he wasn’t a huge fan of the move, as he always likes to leave it as late as possible before deciding on what horses run and who rides them.

Another rubbish gimmick – I wish Epsom would ditch ITV – every year it becomes more and more of a turn off.

— Paul Devine (@touloncrossrail) May 6, 2025

However, the opposite came from Michael Bell, and it was a reaction that I agree with. He said that, given the nature of these top races, trainers know if they are going to run or not. There’s no decision to be made regarding travel, other runners at the meeting, or others in the race, like there may be at other times.

He’s a level-headed character, and I have to agree with him, trainers shouldn’t be saying this inconveniences them. Now, at the same time, I’m not convinced that the additional day will really help promote the competitors in any way, but I’m happy for them to give it a go.

At least racing is trying something, which is more than we have seen in the past.