Queen makes it a right royal event as she joins Liz Hurley, Helen Mirren, Charlotte Hawkins in their most glamorous garments at Epsom

The Queen has joined thousands of racegoers that have descended on Epsom Downs Racecourse for Britain's biggest flat race today.

The Derby is set to be a star-studded affair with celebrities such as Hollywood legend Dame Helen Mirren, Liz Hurley, singer Frankie Bridge and reality TV stars Millie Mackintosh and Hugo Taylor mingling with well-dressed horseracing fans and Royalty.

Gentleman turned up in suits and top hats while ladies wore colourful dresses, fascinators and high heels as they totter around the Surrey site.  

The race is the 'richest' in Britain, offering a prize money of £1.5million to the winning horse.

Saxon Warrior is the favourite to win today's race with bookmakers offering odds of 4/5.

The Irish-trained thoroughbred won the 2000 Guineas race at Newmarket in May. If he wins today, he would then need to take first place St Leger Stakes racecourse in September to be the first horse since 1970 to win the Triple Crown.

The race has been won by the favourite or joint-favourite 42 times since 1900, most recently by Golden Horn, the 13/8 favourite, in 2015.


One group of racing enthusiasts celebrated early holding bottles of wine and cans on what appeared to be an open top bus.

A young woman posed in a black and white stripey dress and headpiece and knelt on two other racegoers as a friend took a picture.

Another reality TV star at the races was Love Island's Chris Hughes. The former islander was there as he trains to be a competitive jockey. Later this month he will compete at York Racecourse. He said: 'I've always wanted to be a jockey so visiting Epsom is going to give me a taste of what it will be like when I make my debut. I

've had some serious sessions on this challenging journey and it's been tough – but I can't wait to get on the track at York!'





MailOnline