Epsom Derby 2016 odds – six tips for the Derby and the Oaks

Two of horse racing's five Classics take place at Epsom this week, with the Oaks today and the biggest and most prestigious race of the flat season – the Epsom Derby – due to take place tomorrow.

As the punters flock to the grand old course in Surrey, who are the top tips for the 2016 Oaks and Derby?

The Derby – 4.30pm Saturday

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This year picking a winner from the 16 strong field in Britain's richest race is almost impossible – indeed some experts think it is too much of a lottery to be worthwhile.

"This is about as lacklustre a renewal of the Derby as you will find and I'm betting long enough to know not to force things simply because there is a big race coming up," sniffs Tony Keenan of Betfair.

Things are "so open that bookmakers are hoping to have made a profit before the race even begins by betting on who will start favourite", reports the Evening Standard.

So what's the problem? The trials have proved little and the field contains no Group One winners. But a lack of hard evidence will not put off all the punters. Alex Hammond of Sky Sports insists that just because it is open "doesn't mean it's a weak race".

If you want to bet on a trainer rather than a horse, back Aidan O'Brien, who has five mounts in the field, and whose colt, US Army Ranger, is vying for favouritism with Wings of Desire. However, US Army Ranger has divided opinion among the experts. Alex Hammond of Sky Sports says "he doesn't really excite me and I won't be backing him". Instead her pick of the Aidan O'Brien entrants is Port Douglas, who is available at much better odds of 16-1.

He may not be a star but there's no denying his heart. "Consistent and tough; stamina unlikely to be an issue and looks sure to run well; seems to act on any ground," concludes the Daily Telegraph.

Port Douglas might not win outright but could be worth an each way suggests The Guardian. "Will keep going better than many but likely to find at least one too good," it says.

Another supporter is Bill Esdaile of City AM, who is "convinced he will run well".

A less lucrative but possibly safer option is Ulysses, at around 8-1. Trainer Michael Stoute's colt "does not have the profile" of his previous winners, including Shergar, "but there is no horse in the field better bred for the job because his sire, Galileo, and dam, Light Shift, were winners of the Derby and Oaks respectively", says Andy Stephens in the Evening Standard.

"You cannot put a saddle on a pedigree but Ulysses has clearly inherited some of the class of his parents because he turned a mile-and-a-quarter maiden into a procession at Newbury last month."

However, he is very green. "A big field won't help a horse with his profile and he would probably have preferred a drier week," warns the Guardian.

In such an open field it may pay to look beyond the other favourites, Wings of Desire and Cloth of Stars (although the latter appears to have some heavyweight supporters). Mike Cattermole of Sporting life backs Moonlight Magic, who he says is "set to run a big one"

The Telegraph is also enthusiastic. He is "tenacious" and "could easily make frame", says the paper.

The Oaks - 4.30pm Friday:

The biggest race on the first day of the festival is the Oaks, held over the same 1m 4f course as the Derby but open only to three-year-old fillies.

The obvious favourite for the race is Aidan O'Brien's 1000 Guineas winner Minding at a somewhat prohibitive 6-5. "There's no doubt she is the form horse in the race and on all known evidence she should take all the beating," says Alex Hammond of Sky Sports.

However, the doubters will point out that her success in the 1,000 Guineas was over one mile on hard ground and that she was beaten in the Irish 1,000 Guineas on soft ground at the Curragh a fortnight ago. Her trainer, Aidan O'Brien, later revealed that she had cut herself in the stalls and "burst a sinus" prior to the race.

The episode raises concerns about her strength on soft ground as well as her health. "The question now is whether Minding can recover quickly enough to line up in the Oaks," says The Guardian. "In which context this defeat after a protracted duel on soft ground is very far from being the ideal preparation."

Her recovery will be key agrees Simon Holt on Sporting Life, who says Minding "looks head and shoulders above her rivals... and should be very hard to beat if fully recovered from her recent surprise defeat".

Could the distance make a difference? Trainer Hugo Palmer, writing on Betfair, says: "If Minding is as brilliant over 1m 4f as she is over 1m, then we are all in serious trouble. However, I feel that there is every chance that she won't stay... She won her maiden in June over 6f on fast ground and looks more about speed to me."

Palmer will be hoping that is the case as his horse, Architecture, is an outside bet for glory, but a more worthwhile consideration could be Harlequeen at 14-1, who is worth a "fun each way flutter on given the rain that has fallen", says Hammond of Sky Sports. "She should stay 12 furlongs and will handle the ground".

Harlequeen won on soft ground at Goodwood last year and caught the eye at York earlier in the season. Tony Calvin at Betfair says: "Epsom may not be ideal for her, as she is still clearly an inexperienced, buzzy sort... but the promise of her York run was there for all to see and I am surprised that she is such a big price."

Midway between the favourite and the outsider is another Aidan O'Brien mount, Somehow, described by the Cambridge News as a "tentative choice to cause a minor upset". Her preparation for the race has been good but she has "gone under the radar, with stable companion Minding justifiably taking top billing".

The 15-2 chance has also caught the eye of David Metcalf of Coral, who was impressed by her performance winning the Cheshire Oaks over 1m 4f at Chester. She is not the finished article but obviously has a "huge engine", he says. "She has the potential to be anything and is clearly on an upward curve."