Epsom Downs, Surrey, England

The Queen's Stand and the Duchess's Stand at Epsom on a bright March morning in 2020, looking across the finishing straight. This is where the Derby was born: first run in 1780, a year after the Oaks, it gave its name to hundreds of races around the world, the Kentucky Derby among them. The mile-and-a-half course is a stern test, climbing early, then plunging downhill around Tattenham Corner into a straight that tilts toward the inside rail.