York Racecourse

Welcome to Yorkshire to be first title sponsor of the Ebor Festival

16th January 2010

York Racecourse is pleased to announce that Welcome to Yorkshire, the official tourism body for the region, it is to be the first title sponsor of the Ebor Festival at York. It will be the first time the Festival has been title sponsored in its 167 year history.

Starting in August this year (August 17th to August 20th) and for the next three years, the annual four day Festival will be known as the Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “This is a historic day for racing in Yorkshire. No other county embraces horseracing like Yorkshire, we have the most racecourses, some of the best trainers and jockeys, not to mention a passionate racegoing public. This deal will enable us to take Yorkshire to a wider global audience putting Yorkshire on the map as a leading tourist destination as well as top sporting destination.”

Last year’s festival welcomed over 80,000 racegoers to the event and it already provides a significant boost for tourism and hospitality businesses across the county. An independent economic impact study conducted by York University valued the role of the racecourse at £44million a year. It is hoped that Welcome to Yorkshire’s involvement will continue to increase the value of the Festival to the county’s tourism businesses.

Given the four days of live coverage on Channel Four the Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival will promote the county to a wider audience in the UK and a global audience through the racecourse’s deal to show the leading races internationally through BBC worldwide.

Speaking on behalf of the team at York, William Derby, chief executive and clerk of the course, said: “We are delighted to announce our partnership with Welcome to Yorkshire and look forward to working with the team under the dynamic leadership of Gary Verity over the next three years and beyond.”

He continued: “The investment that we make in prize money and facilities for racegoers means that we can represent this wonderful county with pride and I look forward to the first ever Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival” 
          
The value of the prize money for the four days, at over £2.7million, helps to attract the best racehorses, as witnessed last year when Sea The Stars chose to run at York, and it is a spectacle that is looked forward to by many.

Welcome to Yorkshire’s involvement will further boost the profile of the Festival away from the traditional racegoing public and help develop new audiences. A package of benefits will include hospitality that allows guests to experience the Festival and the wider delights of Yorkshire.

 To advance book for the Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival please click here.

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