This year’s Betfred Derby, the 244th running of the Premier Classic, will be run at 1.30pm on Saturday 3rd June, The Jockey Club has announced.

The change to the previously scheduled start time of 4.30pm is a result of the decision to switch the Emirates FA Cup Final at Wembley, which sees Manchester City and Manchester United go head-to-head, to 3pm on the same afternoon.

The Betfred Derby will now be the second contest on the eight-race programme at Epsom Downs Racecourse, with the first due off at 12.50pm. The last race of the day will be run at 5.05pm. The full details of the running order will be confirmed and published in due course.

James Crespi, General Manager of Epsom Downs Racecourse, said: “This year, the first Saturday in June will play host to two Derby’s and two of Britain’s great sporting events.

“In order to give fans of both horseracing and football the opportunity to enjoy the Betfred Derby and the FA Cup Final and to maximise the publicity and exposure of these two iconic sporting occasions, which will both be broadcast live on ITV1, we have made some changes to our usual schedule.

“We are grateful to our partners at ITV and our generous sponsors Betfred for their help in facilitating the move, and we can’t wait for what is sure to be a great afternoon for British sport.”