Part Four: The Derby is Under Threat

The Derby is under threat from animal rights protesters. Animal Rising have promised the Jockey Club that over one thousand ‘peaceful’ demonstrators will be in attendance. The situation is complicated by Epsom Downs itself, which is common land. Anyone can go there.

The factions involved will have been encouraged by the publicity their actions at the English and Scottish Grand Nationals attracted, and they will have recruited eager new members as a result. On the other hand, the authorities will by now have infiltrated all the groups that are known about.

It means that pre-emptive arrests are possible. It can work both ways. The groups are aware that their enthusiastic new devotee may be an undercover cop.

Nothing can be done to stop individual zealots. Various organisations around the world now encourage lone wolves. If two people are involved, one may betray the other. If all the planning is done in the inside of a single person’s head, then no-one finds out something is wrong until it has happened.

Emily Davison, who died in 1913 at Tattenham Corner after being struck by the King’s horse, Anmer, acted completely alone. Although the suffrage movement embraced her posthumously, at the time she was regarded as a renegade.

If a person is willing to undergo risk and has a budget, causing temporary mayhem sufficient to disrupt a race is not that hard. There are ways to do it that don’t involve invading the track. A disincentive to a potential saboteur is the less tolerant treatment likely to be meted out by racegoers. If a demonstrator is to be caught, he or she would now prefer it to be by the police.

It’s likely in the short term that both sides in this conflict will up their game. It’s necessary for decent people, including racing people, to accept that Epsom on 3rd June will be part-battleground. The decent instinct to appease is being replaced in many quarters by an acknowledgement that confrontation may be required.

From now on, disrupters may not be so helpful as to wear identifying pink shirts.