The Indian Derby is an annual Thoroughbred horse race. It is run over 2,400-metres and held on the first Sunday of February at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse in Mumbai.
The "Indian Derby" is the premier horse racing event of the country held annually on the first Sunday of February. A derby is a type of horse race, named after the Epsom Derby, run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in England. It was named after for Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby, who inaugurated the race in 1780.
The Indian derby, later called the McDowell Indian Derby was sponsored by the United Breweries Ltd from 1984 Until 2022. It is one of the premier sporting activities in the city having the highest cash prize for any single sporting event in India. The race was first held in 1943 and was won by a filly Princess Beautiful, ridden by Edgar Britt.
There have been many exciting finishes to the Indian Derby but none have come close to the one that occurred on 8 February 1947, a filly named "Her Majesty" ridden by Australian jockey W.T Evans son of 1907 Melbourne Cup winning jockey William (Billy) Evans,[1] had a dramatic fall after the start of the race but both the rider and the horse were brave enough to get back on their feet and run the race only to finish second to Bucephalus by a "nose". Two weeks later Her Majesty beat Bucephalus in the classic Indian St. Leger by twenty lengths.[2] [3]
List of Indian derby winners:[4] [5]
| Race Date | Winner | Sex | Bred At | Jockey | Trainer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04/02/2024 | Enabler | C | Sohna | Yash Narredu | M Narredu | |
| 05/02/2023 | Mirra | F | Usha/Mehra | Anthony Raj | Arjun Mangalorkar | |
| 06/02/2022 | Zuccarelli | G | Nanoli Stud | P. Trevor | Pesi Shroff | |
| 28/03/2021 | Immortality | F | Usha/Mehra | Suraj Narredu | Pesi Shroff | |
| 02/02/2020 | War Hammer | C | Kunigal | Suraj Narredu | Prasana Kumar | |
| 03/02/2019 | Star Superior | C | Poonawalla Group | Suraj Narredu | Rajesh Narredu | |
| 04/02/2018 | Rochester | C | Manjri | C.S. Jodha | S K Sunderji | |
| 05/02/2017 | Hall of Famer | F | Dashmesh | David Allan | S.Padmanabhan | |
| 07/02/2016 | Desert God | C | Kunigal | David Allan | S Padmanabhan | |
| 01/02/2015 | Be Safe | C | Hazara | Suraj Narredu | M Narredu | |
| 02/02/2014 | Alaindair | G | Usha/Mehra | Y.S. Srinath | Altamash A Ahmed | |
| 03/02/2013 | Super Storm | c | Hazara | Jimmy Fortune | S Narredu | |
| 05/02/2012 | In The Spotlight | F | Poonawalla Group | Martin Dwyer | S Padmanabhan | |
| 06/02/2011 | Moonlight Romance | F | Usha/Mehra | David Allan | C D Katrak | |
| 07/02/2010 | Jacqueline | F | Sohna | Richard Hughes | Pesi Shroff | |
| 12/04/2009 | Antonios | C | Nanoli | S A DeSousa | S S Shah | |
| 03/02/2008 | Hotstepper | C | Kehelan | M J Kinane | S S Shah | |
| 04/02/2007 | Diabolical | G | Manjri | Colm O'Donoghue | S Ganapathy | |
| 05/02/2006 | Velvet Rope | G | Sohna | P Kamlesh | Vinayak | |
| 06/02/2005 | Southern Regent | G | Usha/Mehra | B Prakash | S Ganapathy | |
| 01/02/2004 | Psychic Flame | F | Usha/Mehra | Pesi Shroff | Darius R Byramji | |
| 02/02/2003 | Noble Eagle | G | Nanoli | P Belose | Vinayak | |
| 03/02/2002 | Starsky | G | Usha/Mehra | B Prakash | Dallas Todywalla | |
| 04/02/2001 | Storm Again | C | Poonawalla Group | Pesi Shroff | J S Dhariwal | |
| 06/02/2000 | Smart Chieftan | G | Poonawalla Group | Richard Hughes | Karan Singh | |
| 07/02/1999 | Supervite | F | Nanoli | C Ruzaan | Darius R Byramji | |
| 01/02/1998 | Star Supreme | C | Usha/Mehra | J Fortune | Dallas Todywalla | |
| 02/02/1997 | Indictment | C | Usha/Mehra | M Narredu | Vinayak | |
| 04/02/1996 | Amazing Bay | F | Poonawalla Group | Satish Narredu | J H Foley | |
| 05/02/1995 | Elusive Pimpernel | C | Dashmesh/Hargobind | Aslam Kader | Rashid Byramji | |
| 06/02/1994 | Littleover | F | Manjri | Pesi Shroff | Rashid Byramji | |
| 28/02/1993 | Astronomic | C | Dashmesh/Hargobind | Aslam Kader | Rashid Byramji | |
| 02/02/1992 | Astonish | F | Poonawalla Group | Aslam Kader | Bezan Chenoy | |
| 03/02/1991 | Starfire Girl | F | Poonawalla Group | Pesi Shroff | Altaf Hussain | |
| 04/02/1990 | Desert Warrior | C | Poonawalla Group | Pesi Shroff | Altaf Hussain | |
| 05/02/1989 | Exhilaration | C | Poonawalla Group | Pesi Shroff | Imtiaz A Sait | |
| 07/02/1988 | Cordon Bleu | F | Poonawalla Group | M J Kinane | Rashid Byramji | |
| 01/02/1987 | Chaitanya Chakram | C | Dashmesh/Hargobind | L Marshall | J S Dhariwal | |
| 02/02/1986 | Sir Bruce | C | Doaba/Galloping | M J Kinane | Jamshed Dalal | |
| 03/02/1985 | Revelation | F | Usha/Mehra | Pesi Shroff | Bezan Chenoy | |
| 05/02/1984 | Enterprising | C | Usha/Mehra | Pesi Shroff | Bezan Chenoy | |
| 06/02/1983 | Nelston | C | Usha/Mehra | V Shinde | C A Kutappa | |
| 21/02/1982 | Almanac | C | Usha/Mehra | G Baxter | Nosher Cama | |
| 01/02/1981 | Track Lightning | C | Usha/Mehra | A Barclay | Tassi | |
| 03/02/1980 | Mohawk | C | Yeravada | W Swinburn | Rashid Byramji | |
| 04/02/1979 | Royal Tern | C | Sewania | Karl Umrigar | B K Lagad | |
| 05/02/1978 | Manitou | C | Usha/Mehra | V Shinde | Rashid Byramji | |
| 30/01/1977 | Squanderer | C | Yeravada | M Jagdish | Rashid Byramji | |
| 01/02/1976 | Commanche | C | Yeravada | M Jagdish | Rashid Byramji | |
| 02/02/1975 | Pyare Miya | C | Kolhapur | E Johnson | Hayat Mohd | |
| 10/02/1974 | Topmost | C | Kunigal | N Reuben | Rashid Byramji | |
| 18/03/1973 | Mansoor | G | Manjri | Pandu Khade | S S Shah | |
| 06/02/1972 | Prince Khartoum | C | Greenacres | W Swinburn | Rashid Byramji | |
| 07/02/1971 | Bright Hanovar | C | Yeravada | G McGrath | S M Shah | |
| 01/02/1970 | Thunder Storm | G | Manjri | J Wilson | D P Pandole | |
| 02/02/1969 | Fair Haven | F | Greenacres | B Taylor | G M Omkar | |
| 21/01/1968 | Our Select | C | Yeravada | M Jagdish | S M Shah | |
| 29/01/1967 | Nijinsky | C | Manjri | E J Cracknell | S M Shah | |
| 24/01/1966 | Red Rufus | C | Kolhapur | K Raghunath | Meherjee | |
| 07/02/1965 | Rose Royal | F | Greenacres | F Durr | Maj V M Lad | |
| 19/01/1964 | Prince Pradeep | C | Yeravada | W H Carr | Aziz Mahmoud | |
| 27/01/1963 | Rocklie | F | Jammu | S Smith | A L J Talib | |
| 04/02/1962 | Loyal Manzar | C | Manjri | S Smith | A L J Talib | |
| 05/02/1961 | Alijah | C | Manjri | Pandu Khade | Maj V M Lad | |
| 31/01/1960 | Rose De Bahama | F | Manjri | W A Rickaby | Narayan Singh | |
| 08/02/1959 | Fair Wood[NSB] | C | Kunigal | J McGaffin | D N Adenwalla | |
| 02/02/1958 | Canny Scot[NSB] | C | Broadacres | M Jagdish | Baba Khan | |
| 03/02/1957 | Balchand | C | Yeravada | Pandu Khade | D N Adenwalla | |
| 12/02/1956 | Star of Gwalior | C | Manjri | J Egan | Maj V M Lad | |
| 06/02/1955 | Rough Deal | C | Kunigal | E Eldin | J Thompson | |
| 23/01/1954 | Commoner | C | Baroda | S Chavan | Sion F Nessim | |
| 18/01/1953 | Regal Domain | C | Western India | W T Evans | W Buckley | |
| 20/01/1952 | Martial Law | C | Baroda | K A Gethin | B R Patel | |
| 20/01/1951 | Gold Street | C | Yeravada | B T Duffy | B R Patel | |
| 29/01/1950 | Mansoor Beg[NSB] | C | Renala | Pandu Khade | H R Somekh | |
| 05/02/1949 | Balam | C | Renala | Kheem Singh | A L J Talib | |
| 21/02/1948 | Jeanne D'arc | F | Baroda | W A Rickaby | L W Marrable | |
| 08/02/1947 | Bucephalus | C | Meher Shah | T Burn | A L J Talib | |
| 02/02/1946 | Chakori | F | Bhopal | W T Evans | A L J Talib | |
| 27/01/1945 | Odds On | F | Montgomery | R H Jones | G L Shinde | |
| 05/02/1944 | Deepak | C | Renala | A Roberts | Maj K P Jadhav | |
| 30/01/1943 | Princess Beautiful | F | Renala | Edgar Britt | M C Patel |