At Epsom Downs Racecourse in June, Henbit started the 7/1 second favourite, behind the Irish-trained colt Nikoli, for the Derby. The race carried a prize of £166,820, making it the most valuable race run on turf up to that time, and attracted a field of twenty-four runners. The 201st running of the race took place in fine, hot weather and drew an estimated crowd of 500,000 spectators, including Queen Elizabeth II. Carson positioned Henbit just behind the leaders and turned into the straight in fifth place before moving up to challenge in the straight. He took the lead from the outsider Rankin a furlong from the finish, veering sharply to the right as he did so. The colt appeared to recover quickly and held the late challenge of Master Willie to win by three-quarters of a length, with Rankin in third place. Henbit's success in the race was the second in two years for Hern and Carson, who had won with Troy in 1979, and his winning time of 2:34.77 was the fastest since Nijinsky in 1970.