Blue Riband Trial Stakes
The Blue Riband Trial Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 17 yards (2,027 metres) at Epsom in April. History. Established in 1937, the Blue Riband Trial Stakes replaced a previous event called the Nonsuch Plate. It was originally contested over 1 mile and 110 yards. The present system of race grading was introduced in 1971, and the Blue Riband Trial Stakes was given Group 3 status. It was relegated to Listed level in 1986 , and it later became an ungraded conditions race. The Blue Riband Trial Stakes was discontinued for several years in the mid-1990s. It returned in 1997, and from this point its distance was 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yards. It was cut to 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 18 yards in 1999. The race was renamed the Investec Derby Trial in 2010, when the banking group Investec took over the sponsorship. The race reverted to its original name from the 2018 running. The event can serve as a trial for The Derby (flat racing's "Blue Riband"). It was upgraded  to Listed status again in 2018 and reverted to its original name of Blue Riband Trial. The last winner of the trial to achieve victory in the Derby was Blue Peter in 1939. ----