No day return for the Derby

Sue Montgomery on a Classic which seems stuck with its Saturday slot

Despite opposition from many racing professionals, the Derby seems set to continue to be run on a Saturday. Yesterday not only did Epsom director Edward Gillespie throw hints, after a meeting with the race's sponsors, that the Saturday date would be retained, but the new chairman of the British Horseracing Board, Lord Wakeham, threw his weight behind a Saturday Derby.

Lord Wakeham, a former government minister and chief whip in Mrs Thatcher's cabinet, took up his new post on the eve of Shaamit's victory 18 days ago, and, speaking publicly for the first time, urged the industry to give the race's rescheduling more than two years before judging it.

He said: "The decision to move back from Saturday to Wednesday would be of far greater significance than the initial move, and could be disastrous. I think, therefore, I would be supportive of any decision to stay with Saturday. I wouldn't be in too much of a hurry to change things back again.

"However, the jury is still out and I think we should see what things look like in a few years' time. But this year's Derby was a much greater spectacle than the first Saturday running, and there was a better atmosphere."

Lord Wakeham was speaking as the management teams from Epsom and sponsors Vodafone, whose director Terry Barwick is a Saturday fan, were meeting to finalise arrangements for next year's race, with a conclusion that will be announced later this week.

Gillespie said: ''It was a very constructive meeting and the opinion of our sponsors is extremely valued. Despite the fall in TV viewing figures, we were all very pleased with the upward trend in attendance in the face of what was perceived to be a very real threat to the race's popularity, the Euro 96 clash between England and Switzerland on the same afternoon."

Opposition to Saturday has come from many quarters within the racing and betting industries, in the belief that the Derby's already shaky stature will be further weakened by a permanent switch from Wednesday, its ''special'' day.

But when the Olympic marathon runners are being forced to compete in Atlanta's mid-afternoon heat to suit the needs of sponsors and TV, there seems little hope that racing traditionalists will be able to preserve the unique position in the sporting calendar of the world's greatest race.