Editing Epsom Derby (section)

==Epsom Fair==
[[File:William Powell Frith - The Derby Day - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''[[The Derby Day]]'' by [[William Powell Frith]] (1858)]]
For many years the Derby was run on a Wednesday or a Thursday and on the day huge crowds would come from London, not only to see the race but to enjoy other entertainment (during some of the 19th century and most of the 20th, Parliament would adjourn to allow members to attend the meeting).<ref name=SpiritsUp>{{cite news |author=Telegraph View |date=3 June 2011 |title=Epsom Derby: Spirits up on the Downs |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/telegraph-view/8555678/Epsom-Derby-Spirits-up-on-the-Downs.html |access-date=30 June 2012 |archive-date=26 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626120844/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/telegraph-view/8555678/Epsom-Derby-Spirits-up-on-the-Downs.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Malden>{{cite book|editor-last=Malden |editor-first=Henry Elliot|year=1902 |title=The Victoria history of the county of Surrey |location=Westminster |publisher=A. Constable |page=[https://archive.org/stream/cu31924088434760#page/n542/mode/1up 505]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=OW18800724.2.73.5&srpos=4&e=21-07-1880-31-07-1880--10--1----2Robert+the+Devil-- |title=English and Foreign |work=Otago Witness |date=24 July 1880 |access-date=30 November 2011 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305135809/http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d |url-status=live }}</ref>

By the time that [[Charles Dickens]] visited Epsom Downs to view the race in the 1850s, entertainers such as musicians, clowns, and conjurers plied their trades and entertained the crowds; other forms of entertainment included coconut stalls.<ref name=Crane>{{cite news |last=Crane |first=Helen |date=4 June 2009 |url=http://www.surreycomet.co.uk/news/4417737.Century_of_tradition_lost_as_Derby_Fair_scrapped/ |title=Century of tradition lost as Epsom Derby Fair scrapped |work=Surrey Comet |publisher=Newsquest |access-date=27 January 2012 |archive-date=2 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402144603/http://www.surreycomet.co.uk/news/4417737.Century_of_tradition_lost_as_Derby_Fair_scrapped/ |url-status=live }} ([http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/4417737.Century_of_tradition_lost_as_Derby_Fair_scrapped/ Backup: This is Local London] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304072548/http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/4417737.Century_of_tradition_lost_as_Derby_Fair_scrapped/ |date=4 March 2016 }})</ref> The crowded meeting was the subject of a painting by [[William Powell Frith]] painted in the 1858 and titled ''[[The Derby Day]]''; critics have noted that the foreground of the painting features the entertainment attractions, while the racing is relegated to the margins.<ref name=Payne>{{cite web |last=Payne |first=Christiana |date=July 2001 |work=The Spectacle of Dress in Victorian Painting |title=A Day at the Races |publisher=Science Museum |url=http://www.fathom.com/course/10701040/session2.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126063340/http://www.fathom.com/course/10701040/session2.html |archive-date=26 January 2012 |df=dmy }}</ref>

In the 1870s, the [[Stationary steam engine|steam-driven]] rides were introduced. They were located at the [[Tattenham Corner]] end of the grounds and the fair was on for ten days and entertained hundreds of thousands.<ref name=Crane/> During the latter half of the 20th century, Derby Day became less popular and the race was moved from Wednesday to Saturday in 1995 with the hope of reviving high attendance.<ref name=SpiritsUp/> As the number of people attending the fair dwindled in the face of competition for attention and changing tastes, its length was reduced from 10 days to three or four.<ref name=Crane/>

===Modern format===

Today, the free-admission Hill still provides a festival atmosphere with a fairground in operation on the Friday and Saturday.<ref>[https://www.thejockeyclub.co.uk/epsom/events-tickets/epsom-derby/plan-your-day/enclosures/the-hill/ The Hill]. ''The Jockey Club''. Retrieved 2 June 2022.</ref> The walk-in nature of the Hill typically sees Derby attendances exceed 100,000 spectators, making it one of the largest sporting events in  the United Kingdom.<ref>[https://inews.co.uk/news/uk/queen-miss-epsom-derby-fourth-time-75-years-1035945?ico=in-line_link Queen to miss Epsom Derby for just the fourth time in 75 years]. ''iNews''. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2022.</ref>