Action for the 2025 season at York Racecourse gets underway with the three-day Dante Festival starting on Wednesday 14 May. The first of fourteen dates that are also Premier Racedays at the venue awarded Racecourse of the Year 2024 by the Racecourse Association Showcase judges

It will set the tone for a record investment across the season of more than £12m in prize money, up 36% since 2019 when the track last staged eighteen racedays. When compared to the seventeen days of racing in 2024, the increase is c£800,000.

York Racecourse and Juddmonte are proud that the feature Group One of the season was rated as the Longines Best Race in the World for last season, the record investment of £1,250,000 remains in place.

It will be the first Dante Festival to offer Grandstand and Paddock racegoers the use of the award-winning Bustardthorpe End Development. The multi-million-pound upgrade was opened by Her Majesty The Queen in her capacity as Royal Patron to the track, last August. Racegoers can enjoy the Roberto Village Bar, the Churchill Tyres Lawn & Canopy, both a Fish ‘n’ Chip Shop and chicken griddle, as well as improved Theakston Bar plus additional toilets.

Yorkshire weather will be better addressed with the completion of nine new canopies on the Champagne Lawn. Complete with PA speakers and heaters (so they’ll be cosy on October racedays), they should prove a popular spot to meet.

On arriving at York, racegoers can see an impressive new equine statue, by acclaimed sculptor Freddie McAlpine-Riddell. The work is sympathetic to the ongoing Green Knavesmire 300 initiative as it uses scrap metal to create an insta-moment, standing at 18 hands.

The familiar pose in front of the flower wall will literally take on a fresh look as real flowers from the course’s own greenhouses, will form the memorable backdrop.

A selection of Heineken beers such as Birra Moretti will join North Yorkshire brewed ales from the famous Theakston stable, being served across the site including an IPA created especially for the Knavesmire racegoer. Operating as a guest ale in this recently opened site and in the Flying Frankie pub, it will retail at £6.40 for a pint.

Champagne of the Meeting priced at £46.50 will be available across the site.

The refreshed look continues in the Roberto Lawn area, where both a Guinness Bar and a Prosecco one have had a makeover. A Pink Gin and Cocktail Bar, branded for Gordons completes the 2025 makeovers.

The York Kitchen & Café will continue to offer its homemade signature dishes, such as a range of deep filled Yorkshire Puddings for £13.40 and a homemade pie meal deal for under £15. New for this year, the chefs have added a freshly made Curry Club option.

Always popular, the Moët Roof Terrace will be offering a range of freshly baked pizzas to complement the view and fully stocked bar.

Andrew Balding begins the defence of what was a maiden leading trainer title at York with competition again set to be fierce for the Charles Clinkard backed Top Trainer Trophy; a cash prize of £2,500 will go to the winning stable, alongside a complimentary Christmas Party and a fine pair of shoes. Oisin Murphy added a York crown as the riders battle for the Living North Magazine Top Jockey Trophy as well as £2,500 ,which last year’s winner generously donated to Macmillan. All 125 contests on the Knavesmire will offer at least £100 to the groom responsible for the best turned out horse.

York are pleased to continue complimentary guided behind-the-scenes tours before racing and minibus trips to the start for racegoers. These will be taken by former professional jockey and winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Robert Earnshaw, as another example of initiatives to further explain the sport and get racegoers closer to the action.

On most days of the season, racegoers will get a chance to meet the equine ambassador to the Knavesmire, Remy. Now aged sixteen, the retired racehorse will be better known to fans of the sport as Goldream, the dual Group One winning sprinter for Robert Cowell. Set to visit across the season, he will showcase the work of New Beginnings, a local charity that helps horses with new careers once their racing days have drawn to a close.

Racing Welfare are a long-standing partner of York, the team will be on course as the Dante Festival marks Mental Health Awareness Week.

The appropriate use of technology is a recurring theme at the track, as an example, rapid cash, credit card & contactless payment is available at all the permanent food and drink outlets with yet more large screen televisions added.

The Tote Guarantee scheme will be in operation on all days, offering a strong reason for racegoers to use the pool-based betting operation that is so closely aligned with the health of UK racing. Punters will get detailed information as well as away racing on the dedicated television channel known as DAR, as it is focused on Data and Away Racing.