Next month’s Betfred Derby, staged at Epsom Downs on Saturday 7th June, will be run in honour of His Highness Aga Khan IV, The Jockey Club has announced today.

In a special tribute to the spiritual leader of the world’s Ismaili Muslims and one of the greatest philanthropists, who passed away on February 4th this year in Lisbon at the age of 88, the 246th running of the historic race will be named ‘The Betfred Derby (in honour of His Highness Aga Khan IV)’.

In the world of horseracing, he was among the foremost owner-breeders of his or any other generation. He succeeded his grandfather as Aga Khan in 1957 and on resuming the family’s rich racing traditions in the 1970s went on to emulate him by owning five winners of the premier Classic.

The imperious record-breaking 10-length victory of Shergar for the Aga Khan in the 1981 Derby was followed by wins for Shahrastani (1986), Kahyasi (1988), Sinndar (2000) and Harzand (2016). He also won the Betfred Oaks in 2024 with Ezeliya.

The Aga Khan’s daughter, Princess Zahra, said: “My family and I are incredibly grateful to Epsom and The Jockey Club for running the race in honour of my father.

“The Derby is an iconic event that he deeply loved and winning it for the first time with Shergar brought him immense pride and joy. It gave him the sense that the work his father and grandfather had accomplished with the breeding operation was being carried forward.

“He eventually matched the record of my great-grandfather when Harzand secured his fifth Derby victory - a wonderful achievement.”

Jim Allen, General Manager of Epsom Downs Racecourse, said: “His Highness the Aga Khan’s enormous contribution to racing in Europe is one which spans not only decades but generations and we wanted to pay tribute to him in the most fitting way possible.

“His famous silks were a familiar sight at Epsom Downs for more than 40 years and were worn by jockeys in some of the most famous renewals of the Derby of all time, from the breathtaking and record-breaking success of Shergar in 1981 to the very poignant moment in 2016 when Harzand’s victory equalled his grandfather’s total of five Derby winners.

“I would like to thank the Aga Khan’s family for supporting us in our decision to rename this year’s race and look forward to welcoming Princess Zahra Aga Khan on Saturday 7th June as our guest.

“We are also grateful to our sponsor, Betfred, for their help in making this possible and all of us at Epsom Downs Racecourse hope that we witness a race that is worthy of his memory next month.”