The Kiplingcotes Derby: the oldest horse race in England

It’s the oldest horse race in England, you can’t see the start from the finish, the runner-up gets more prize money than the winner, and the course follows country lanes. The Kiplingcotes Derby is a unique sporting event and a Yorkshire institution.

The main hub of activity is the finishing post in an unremarkable corner of the Wolds, north of Market Weighton. Last year attracting several hundred spectators and 19 entries, the Derby is a popular occasion and a key date in the local agricultural community calendar. In common with point to points, heavy waxed jackets, tweed caps and green wellies, with golf umbrellas on standby are very much de rigueur.

The starting post for the historic race. (Image: Paul Kirkwood) There’s a convivial hum of expectation as runners and rides come together, some looking more professional than others, greeted by friends and family. Everyone seems to know everyone here, in the saddle and out of it. The race starts on a country lane with suitably wide verges near the old Kiplingcotes railway station. The spot is marked by a stone, crowned since 2012 by a large decorative iron horseshoe. The linear 6km course follows lanes across two roads, a bridge over a disused railway line and the A614 via temporary traffic lights.

But why is the race in the Wolds and at the tail-end of winter when conditions are often far from ideal? For the answers you need to trace all the way back to the Derby’s origins during the reign of Henry VIII in 1519 which makes it the oldest continually run flat race in England. After the winter and when betting was the lifeblood of the horse fraternity, the local gentry were eager to try out their steeds ahead of the flat racing season. Devising a test course was the solution.

Approaching the finishing line. (Image: Paul Kirkwood) Declared at the start, the last of the race’s 15 rules states that: “Should the race not be run then it shall cease”. To ensure continuity a single horse was ridden along the route in 1947 when four-foot deep snow drifts prevented the running of the race, with the clerk of the course as the only spectator. Recent years have presented further challenges. A horse walked the course during the foot and mouth disease outbreak in 2001 and after waterlogging in 2018. Two horses hacked the route at a social distance in the 2020 lockdown.

In a race that delight in its quirks, another rule states that the winner receives £100 while the runner-up receives the remainder of the entry fees which ordinarily amounts to a larger sum. The prize money may be somewhat less than the £882,000 offered to the winner of the Epsom Derby but Kiplingcotes has over 250 years more heritage and for novelty alone takes some beating.

The finishing post. (Image: Paul Kirkwood) HOW TO WATCH THE KIPLINGCOTES DERBY

This year’s derby takes place on Thursday, 20th March. 

Spectators and horses begin gathering at the finishing post from around 10am.
The grid reference is SE 894478.

After the weigh in, at 11am, horses and riders hack off to the start at SE 936442.

Once they’ve all gathered at noon the race begins.

The first horses finish in 10-15 minutes. Trophy presentations take place once everyone’s back at about 1pm.

A bookmaker is available plus snack and coffee vans.

Park at Londesborough Wold Farm and walk round. Organisers advise spectators not to park on verges.

There’s no charge to watch but donations are welcome. For a bite to eat afterwards, The Goodmanham Arms, north-east of Market Weighton comes recommended.

Bookmaker Chris Johnson from Doncaster. (Image: Paul Kirkwood)