Derby not worth the 'aggro’?

Press, 1 June 1981, Page 18

Derby not worth the 'aggro’?

NZPA London The English Derby, due to be run on Wednesday, should be called off because of the “menace” of gypsies, according to a horse trainer quoted in the “Sporting Life” newspaper. In a front-page story, the sporting daily said the Derby was not worth the “aggro” it caused. . ,

The annual classic is to be run at Epsom Downs, south of London, next Wednesday. Gypsies traditionally gather on the downs at Derby time. The trainer, who declined use of his name, said: “My place could be burned down by these people if they knew who it was. But someone has to speak out. “Everyone in the area is scared. Trainers can’t get their horses on to the downs and the only way to stop this annual hell is to cancel the Derby. . “Petitions have been signed by the residents. Pubs and shops are frightened of opening, and the woods have been fouled with excrement. “All this is bad enough. But

some gallops are being ruined by caravans, lorries, cars and the motorbikes being driven wildly across them.” Some gypsies had taken up positions on Epsom Downs last week and seeking firm surfaces after recent prolonged rain, parked their vehicles in an unauthorised area about two furlongs from the start of the Derby .

Unless ’they are moved, spectators in the lower stands and in the downs area on the inside of the course Will not be able to see the horses at that point. The chairman of the Horserace Betting Levy Board, Lord Plummer, said special steps were being taken to persuade the invaders to move.

He said they were not genuine gypsies—but people calling themselves gypsies. The real gypsies were in their allotted place nearby, where portable public toilets had been provided. A former Levy Board chairman, Lord Wigg, has repeatedly warned about the gypsy threat.