2023 Epsom Oaks Betting Tips, Best Bookmakers & Free Bets

The Epsom Oaks is amongst the oldest sporting events in the world, having first been run at the famous Epsom Downs back in 1779.

A huge amount of prize money and prestige is on offer for any filly who's strong enough to hold off their peers and win the Epsom Oaks.

Few people know this, but the Epsom Oaks was actually created the year before the Derby. 

The Oaks was named after an estate called The Oaks, which was leased by the 12th Earl of Derby.

First run in 1779, the Oaks, known as the Oakes Stakes, was won by Bridget who was owned by Lord Derby.

The race is run at Epsom Downs, but during the wars it was run at Newmarket and titled the New Oaks Stakes.

The Epsom Oaks is the second leg of the fillies' Triple Crown. Any three-year-old filly who can win the 1000 Guineas, the Epsom Oaks and the St Leger will be immortalised as a Triple Crown winner.

Formosa was the first filly to win the Triple crown in 1868. Greats like Sceptre, Pretty Polly and Sun Chariot have followed in her footsteps since. The most recent winner of the Fillies Triple Crown was Oh So Sharp in 1985.

Frank Buckle won the Oaks on nine occasions in the early stages of the race. His first win came in 1797 with Nike and his last winner came 26 years later with Zinc.

Robert Robson was the leading trainer of his time and he managed to win the Oaks on 13 occasions. Some of his highlight wins came with Zinc, Wings and Music.

Known as the Emperor of Trainers, Robson was known for his ability to train Classic winners and he also trained seven Derby winners.

Pretty Polly was the shortest-odds winner in 1904, paying only 8/100. She subsequently had the Pretty Polly Stakes named after it.

John Gosden's Enable ran the quickest Oaks we've ever seen at Epsom in 2017, stopping the clock in 2:34.13. Enable went on to become one of the best fillies of all time, claiming back-to-back wins in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

Aidan O'Brien's Forever Together won the Oaks in 2018, despite going into the race a maiden. Gosden struck back in 2019, as Frankie Dettori rode Anapurna to victory.

Love then handed O'Brien another victory in 2020, following her win in the 1000 Guineas with an even more impressive triumph in the Epsom Oaks. Aidan O'Brien was celebrating again in 2021, as Snowfall recorded the most emphatic win in the history of the Oaks, scoring a 16-length success. O'Brien then celebrated an Oaks hat-trick as Tuesday held off Emily Upjohn to win in 2022.

There have been plenty of short-priced winners of the Oaks this century. Minding carried the shortest price into the winners' enclosure in2016, when going off at 10/11.

Unlike the Epsom Derby, where only two horses have carried double-figure prices to victory since the turn of the millennium, there have been lots of upsets in the Epsom Oaks.

Between 2008 and 2015, we saw three successive 20/1 winners, a 33/1 winner and Talent carry an astronomical price of 50/1 into the winners' enclosure.

The draw can be important in the Oaks. Stall one is known as the "coffin stall", and it's accounted for fewer Oaks winners than any other stall. Being drawn high is favoured.

Many people see the 1000 Guineas, run over a mile at Newmarket, as the best trial for the Epsom Oaks.

The Lingfield Oaks Trial, the Fillies' Trial Stakes at Newbury and the Fred Darling Stakes at Newmarket have been used as lead-up races.

Three fillies have won at Epsom after running in the Cheshire Oaks at Chester. The Musidora Stakes at York is another important lead-up race.

Many runners find it tough to handle the conditions at Epsom Downs.

The Epsom track is a horse shoe shape and it's very undulating. One of the reasons why international thoroughbreds don't come over to compete is because the tracks are so vastly different.

Seeing out the Oaks distance is never easy for the three-year-olds so having track and distance experience can be key.