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Headline weekend for World Pool with two Derbies from Epsom, Eagle Farm

World Pool

31/05/2024

World Pool makes Queensland debut before 245th running of one of the world’s great races

  • Kovalica won last year’s Queensland Derby under James McDonald (Credit: Trackside photographer)
    Kovalica won last year’s Queensland Derby under James McDonald (Credit: Trackside photographer)

Thursday 30 May 2024 – International bettors will turn their attention to Eagle Farm for the first time on Saturday as World Pool makes its Brisbane debut with four races from Queensland Derby Day, the opening part of an enormous intercontinental card that also features arguably the world’s most famous race, the Epsom Derby.

Queensland becomes the third Australian state to host races on which the world’s largest globally commingled pools will be offered, following Victoria and New South Wales, bringing unbeatable liquidity and value to the Sunshine State.

The four races from Eagle Farm are headlined by a pair of Group 1 contests: the Queensland Derby, led by Australian Oaks winner Autumn Angel, and the Kingsford-Smith Cup with eight Group 1-winning sprinters among a field of 12.

The G3 Fred Best Classic for three-year-olds and the Listed Helen Coughlan Stakes for fillies and mares will also lead in to a mammoth eight-race card from Epsom, featuring the 245th running of the original Derby.

Remarkably, this Eagle Farm undercard last year saw 2022 Queensland Derby winner Kukeracha defeat 2020 Epsom Derby hero Serpentine by a short half-head. Two-time World Pool winner Kalapour was a further short half-head away in third.

For the races at Eagle Farm, punters will be able to bet with the world on five bet types – Win, Place, Quinella, Quinella Place (Duet) and Tierce (Trifecta) – with full fields and open races ensuring competitive betting contests through World Pool.

While Eagle Farm makes its first World Pool appearance on Saturday – with two races also set to be taken on Stradbroke Handicap Day on June 15 – this will be the fourth year that World Pool has been active for the full card on Epsom’s headline raceday, bringing eight top-quality races.

Last year, turnover from World Pool bet types on Derby Stakes Day hit HK$249.1 million (approx. £25 million), with the Derby itself accounting for HK$41.6 million (approx. £4.2 million) as the Aidan O’Brien-trained Auguste Rodin bounced back from disappointing in the 2000 Guineas to land the Epsom Classic.

However, it was the Derby runner-up, King Of Steel, that was chosen as the World Pool Moment of the Day on that occasion after running a huge race at a World Pool dividend of 90.0.

Once again, a Moment of the Day will be selected from the eight races on the card, with the winning groom receiving a cheque for HK$40,000 and entry into the World Pool Moment of the Year competition for the chance to win a VIP trip to Hong Kong.

World Pool’s new UK & Ireland Jockeys’ Championship is also set to continue on Derby Stakes Day, with winning jockeys picking up points based on World Pool’s win dividend.

The current championship leader is Silvestre de Sousa on 44.10 points, narrowly ahead of Callum Sheppard on 42.55, with Oisin Murphy third on 28.40 points.

Upcoming World Pool events in the next two months:

June
Saturday 1: Queensland Derby Day – Eagle Farm Racecourse (P)
Saturday 1: Derby Stakes Day – Epsom Racecourse (F)
Saturday 8: Gold Challenge – Greyville Racecourse (S)
Saturday 15: Stradbroke Handicap Day – Eagle Farm Racecourse (P)
Tuesday 18: Queen Anne Stakes Day – Ascot Racecourse (F)
Wednesday 19: Prince of Wales’s Stakes Day – Ascot Racecourse (F)
Thursday 20: Gold Cup Day – Ascot Racecourse (F)
Friday 21: Commonwealth Cup Day – Ascot Racecourse (F)
Saturday 22: Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes Day – Ascot Racecourse (F)
Sunday 30: Irish Derby Day – Curragh Racecourse (F)

July
Saturday 6: Eclipse Stakes – Sandown Racecourse (S)
Saturday 6: Durban July – Greyville Racecourse (S)
Sunday 7: Deutsches Derby Day – Hamburg Racecourse (P)
Saturday 27: King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes Day – Ascot Racecourse (F)
Sunday 28: Champions Cup Day – Geryville Racecourse (P)
Sunday 28: Grosser Preis Bayerisches Zuchtrennen Day – Munich Racecourse (P)
Tuesday 30: Goodwood Cup Day – Goodwood Racecourse (F)
Wednesday 31: Sussex Stakes Day – Goodwood Racecourse (F)

   *F: Full meeting - World Pool coverage on all races in the relevant meeting
     P: Part meeting - World Pool coverage only on selected races in the relevant meeting
     S: Single race - World Pool coverage only on this race in the relevant meeting