Epsom Derby Tips & Betting Odds: Ruling Court & Royal Dress to win big on Derby Day

Independent

a day ago

Epsom Derby betting tips
Epsom Derby racing preview
The 2025 Epsom Derby is just around the corner as Epsom Downs Racecourse hosts one of the most eagerly anticipated events of the horse racing calendar.
The Derby remains arguably the greatest flat race in the world, with a history stretching back to 1790, and is part of the three classics of the season and one of the so-called 'Triple Crown', alongside the St Leger Stakes and the 2000 Guineas Stakes.
In 2025, Ruling Court is bidding to become the first horse since 2012 to complete the 2000 Guineas and Epsom Derby double, having won impressively at Newmarket in May.
And the Godolphin horse is roughly joint-favourite ahead of the race as it stands, having fallen to around 3/1 alongside Delacroix, the AP O'Brien-trained horse who won the Derby Trial Stakes at Leopardstown last month.
In total, 19 horses have been confirmed for the race, which is the headline event among eight races on Derby Day, with the Princess Elizabeth Stakes and the Betfred Diomed Stakes two of the other highlights.
Epsom Derby prediction: Ruling Court to claim second Classic
The early odds are seeing three of the same names pop up repeatedly: Delacroix, Ruling Court and Pride Of Arras.
The former has been the antepost favourite in the lead-up to the race, having won twice at Leopardstown so far this year including in the Derby Trial Stakes last month.
Godolphin runner Ruling Court is the horse bidding to complete the 2000 Guineas-Epsom Derby double, and is offered around 13/2 after also winning at Meydan this year.
Ralph Beckett's Pride Of Arras has also made an impression in 2025, having on the Group 2 Dante Stakes at York last month.
And it is a tough field to predict ahead of the race, with each of the main contenders possessing notable strengths and weaknesses.
Though Delacroix remains favourite in the Epsom Derby odds, it's been 23 years since a runner in the Leopardstown Derby Trial followed up with victory in the Derby, and his form as a two-year-old – with three losses in five runs – is cause for concern despite better recent performances. At the shortest odds, there may not be enough value there to be worth a punt.
And while Pride Of Arras outperformed his inexperience to win the Dante, the pace of this race may surprise him and his inexperience may tell, having only ever run twice.
That leaves Ruling Court. The three-year-old has seen his odds fall as the race approaches, as he comes into The Derby as the highest-rated runner after an impressive run in the 2000 Guineas.
He has never run beyond a mile before, and was beaten by The Lion In Winter and Wimbledon Hawkeye in 2024, so there is cause for doubt among punters, but there is a feeling that he'll be a winner if he can stay the distance.
To that end, we think a wager on the Godolphin horse could provide better value, with a bet on Ruling Court to win the Derby offered at 3/1 with various horse racing betting sites.
Princess Elizabeth Stakes prediction: Royal Dress to secure crown
The first race of Derby day is the Princess Elizabeth Stakes, a Group 3 contest open to fillies and mares three years or older that was re-established in 1995.
It is one of the two Group 3 races of the day and carries just over £50,000 in prize money, with previous winners including Prosperous Voyage and Breege. Famed jockey Frankie Dettori has won this particular race six times.
In 2025, betting sites have Bright Thunder and Royal Dress as joint-favourites at 5/1 in the antepost betting.
Royal Dress is yet to win in 2025, having come third in the Group 2 Middleton Fillies' Stakes in York in May, but is coming off the back of a successful 2024 that included a win in Curragh and third place in this very race.
Royal Dress' previous performances have shown the necessary speed to win races like this while suggesting that there are also no worries about the ground, and with more rain falling as the race approaches, that could well suit the five-year-old.
To that end, we're backing Royal Dress to win the first race of Derby Day at 5/1 with Betfred.
Betfred Diomed Stakes prediction: Look out for Docklands
The other Group 3 contest of Derby Day is the Diomed Stakes, inaugurated in 1971 and named after the first ever winner of the Epsom Derby.
The race is run over a distance of 1 mile and 113 yards, offering over £56,000 in prize money, and previous winners include Royal Scotsman and Megallan, ridden by Frankie Dettori in 2022.
Coming in at second favourite is Persica, ridden by jockey Ryan Moore, who has run here 13 times and won twice (while placing on eight further occasions). The four-year-old is offered at 5/2, and already has one win in 2025 – at the Earl of Sefton Stakes at Newmarket in April.
But it's Docklands, ridden by Richard Kingscote, who is the current favourite at 7/4, having finished second in the Paradise Stakes at Ascot in April.
Interestingly, several previous winners have won this race when entering off the back of a Class 1 contest, which is the case for Docklands.
Though he has not run at Epsom recently, the favourite has still shown that he travels well and can handle the pace, performing impressively at Ascot in 2025 and finishing second in last year's Queen Anne Stakes.
And we're going with the five-year-old to win on Derby Day too, which is priced at 7/4 with Betfred.
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