Legendary trainer Vincent O’Brien will be the guest of honor at the 2008 Derby Festival at Epsom Downs.

O’Brien amassed 16 English classic wins, including six victories in the Epsom Derby, during his illustrious career. His Epsom Derby winners were Larkspur (1962), Sir Ivor (‘68), Nijinsky II (‘70), Roberto (‘72), The Minstrel (‘77), and Golden Fleece (‘82).

“We are so delighted to be able to welcome such a racing legend back to Epsom for the Derby Festival this year,” said Nick Blofeld, managing director of Epsom Downs. “He is undoubtedly the father of modern-day trainers, and is a living God within the world of racing. It is therefore an enormous privilege for us at Epsom to bestow this honor upon such a truly great man.”

O’Brien also collected 27 Irish classic victories and trained Alleged to back-to-back victories in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Fr-G1) in 1977-’78, the last horse to accomplish the feat.

In a 2003 Racing Post poll, O’Brien was voted the all-time most important figure in British racing.

“I am most touched to be chosen as guest of honor for this year's Epsom Derby. I could never have imagined 80 years ago, growing up on our farm in remote County Cork, that I would have been chosen for this special honor,” said O’Brien, who founded Ballydoyle training center in Ireland.

“There is no doubt that winning the six Derbys gave me the six greatest thrills of my life.  The three-year-old colt has just one chance at this race, one day only in his life, and I have been so fortunate to have trained the six great horses who won the race for me. It is in recognition of their ability, stamina, and courage, the skill of the jockeys who rode them, and the support of our stable, that I am so proud to accept this honor.”