When I first started attending The Derby at Epsom Racecourse it was held on a Wednesday in June, I believe the first Wednesday, and if you wanted to see The Queen and other members of the royal party there it was possible to do so when they were in the parade ring, viewing the horses. The layout of the racecourse in those days, was perfect for this, as it was not necessary to buy a full ticket - the parade ring being outside the confines of the main racecourse area made it accessible to anyone, and probably a security nightmare! Later, with the layout changing, this changed, and it became an expensive day out. Although I liked it as a place for taking photographs of The Queen, as she was usually quite close and our view was unobstructed I never enjoyed the day. It was always very stressful, and was one of the  few places where we would be constantly hassled by the local police, who seemed determined to follow half a dozen people who they knew, all day, while ignoring the other 100,000 strangers who were there.
For Her Majesty, The Derby was "the one that got away"! Her first runner in the race, just four days after her Coronation in 1953, was Aureole, and she attended the festival with great hopes. Sadly the horse finished second, and proved to be the closest she ever came to having the winner. After many decades of success as a racehorse owner and breeder this was the race that eluded her, and so it was very exciting to be at the Derby in 2011, which I was when The Queen's Carlton House was entered. This horse seemed to be the one that could win, and it had been spoken about in the media for weeks. On arrival at the racecourse everyone was handed a paper flag to wave in support of The Queen, and the excitement was palpable. The Queen arrived down the racecourse as usual, with a far larger family party than usual, in obvious anticipation of success, and Carlton House eventually set off for the race as the 5-2 favourite. While every owner wants to win a race I don't think that anyone would have minded losing that one, as long as it was to The Queen!

Betting though is a funny thing, and the odds of any horse winning a race are determined purely by the numbers of people betting, which in itself is influenced heavily, especially on a day like this, by wishful thinking and dreams, rather than by the proven ability of a particular horse, and that is why the bookies are generally the winners, whatever happens in the race. Carlton House had a good previous record, but losing a shoe during the race was enough to derail any chances of a royal victory, and the horse came home in third place. I cannot recall who won, just the sigh of disappointment that could be felt across the course as the dream faded yet again for The Queen, who was apparently characteristically philosophical about it.

The Sport of Kings was, for an entire reign, truly The Sport of Queens, but there are no guarantees in horse racing.