Looking Forward to the Sky Bet Ebor Festival 2026

York Racecourse is all set to stage the Sky Bet Ebor Festival 2026 (Wednesday 19-Saturday 22 August), one of the best race meetings in the world, brimming with top-class racing action, fashion, hospitality and a fabulous live sporting event atmosphere.

An occasion that is set to stage the richest ever race on the Knavesmire, the £1.5m Group One Juddmonte International; ranked three times as the Longines Best Race in the World.

York Racecourse is honoured that Her Majesty The Queen, as Royal Patron, has visited the Sky Bet Ebor Festival in each of the last two years.

York Racecourse is delighted that the race programme and prize money on offer for the Sky Bet Ebor Festival is at a record level just shy of £7.5m, being more than £300,000 more valuable than last year.

There is a Group One contest on each day of the Festival.

This ambitious commitment by the York Race Committee is designed to help attract the best horses and jockeys to York, support Britain’s position as a leading racing jurisdiction and support the vital international investment in the sport at an elite level. It could well be rewarded with runners from France and Japan, with Satono Reve travelling from his base north-east of Tokyo.

The global nature of the top-quality competition is reflected with the three weekday Group Ones all being part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series – the latter of which are ‘Win and You’re In’ races for the Breeders’ Cup at Keenland Racetrack, Kentucky, in November. They are joined by the Tattersalls Acomb Stakes, linking the juveniles with a run in the USA.

The Juddmonte International and Yorkshire Oaks also attract huge bonuses from the JRA for the winner to go to race in Japan, the former now benefiting from an enhanced $5 million top-up.

Given the strong partnership between York Racecourse and Victoria Racing Club, and the record of horses making the trip from the Knavesmire to Flemington, it is the only European contest to have been granted the “ballot exempt” status for the Lexus Melbourne Cup. In celebration the three-handled Cup itself will be on display through the week.

Closer to home, the fastest horses in Europe will benefit from a new pathway between the two Group One sprints over five furlongs, with the winner of the Coolmore City Of Troy Nunthorpe given a free place in the stalls at The Curragh, for the Flying Five.

The Sky Bet Strensall is nominated as an automatic invitation race to the now Group 1 Bahrain International Trophy, with the Sky Bet Great Voltigeur winner receiving the same benefit for the Dubai City of Gold next February. All these global alliances and partnerships serve to further cement the Ebor Festival’s growing global profile and reach, as well as underlining the international nature of elite horseracing.

For the first time, every day of the Ebor Festival will be a World Pool Event in a continuation of the ground-breaking partnership with the Hong Kong Jockey Club. World Pool ensures there are larger and deeper pools, smoother pricing and will drive an increase in value for customers, both on course at York - as well as racing fans from around the world – who bet into a single pool. World Pool has performed strongly at other UK Flat Festivals, as international customers become more familiar with the horses and context of European contests and via racecourses and stakeholders working closely on optimising the race programmes to ensure 7+ runners where possible (ensuring all bet types are available) and new marketing and TV production initiatives.

For those who seek to inform their bets with the latest weather conditions, then York offers near real time data from the weather station located at the one-furlong mark. A quick link from the going report page of the website will provide all the information on rainfall, wind and more besides.

Away from the track a race meeting to cherish, celebrate and enjoy

The Sky Bet Ebor Community Sweepstake is a £46,000 innovative initiative which seeks to celebrate and reward some of the many Yorkshire charities and community groups who serve our White Rose communities and neighbours. Earlier in the summer, working with our partners at Sky Bet, we invited applications from local charities and community groups who made their case for how they would use a £20,000 donation. Out of more than 100 entries, we will shortlist 22 who will all be invited to a VIP Day out at York on Saturday 22 August. They will each be assigned a runner in the Sky Bet Ebor and the good cause attached to the winning horse will receive that £20,000 award. The second placed horse will benefit from their good cause to the tune of £5,000, with £2,000 to the third and each of the other contenders still benefiting from a £1,000 donation.

On all four days, stand-side racegoers will be able to watch and participate in the Grantley Hall Ebor Fashion Lawn. No need to pre-register or book, any racegoer on standside is invited to pop along between 12.30pm - 2.30pm, walk the catwalk, and have the opportunity to win some fabulous prizes whilst having a great time with their party. The eye-catching, flower-clad catwalk is set in the picturesque surroundings in front of the Edwardian Weighing Room. A panel of judges will cast an expert eye over the preparations and attire before them and will be ready to decide winners on each day. Throughout the week, the most stylish in a number of categories will win a range of prizes, courtesy of the headline sponsor, as well as men’s fashion partner, Skopes. With the further support of Sky Bet offering a day out to the English Football League and The Potions Cauldron some treats, for the younger generation. A rising star of the millinery world, Georgina Durdy, will be on hand to help assess the style and match hats to outfits, with her regular co-host Laura Castle of YorkMix Radio.

The first five races on each of the four days will be broadcast live on the ITV main channel, headed by Ed Chamberlin, as part of the outside broadcast team assembled from the BAFTA winning broadcaster. The team that will bring pictures of all the action and every aspect of the Ebor Festival to the armchairs of the nation and around the world.

Racing TV are covering all 28 races of the Ebor Festival live, fronted by former Racing Broadcasters of the Year Nick Luck and Lydia Hislop, including ‘Mark Your Card’ live from the track each day.

The Sky Bet Ebor Festival will have a significant international broadcast presence with coverage across the globe including the Sky network in Australia, coverage being seen to the USA, Japan, Dubai and most of continental Europe.

Off the track the excitement builds

Regular visitors to the Knavesmire will have seen the ongoing investment in the facilities for horses, participants and racegoers at York. This commitment to improve the experience of racing at York continues with the Veuve Clicquot Bandstand and new presentation podium as the most visible additions.

Adding to the experience this year will be the Sound Garden, as the name suggests a DJ will add to the atmosphere in an area in the infield that will have its own seating, televisions, food and bar outlet, as well as the reverse angle of the live action.

For those wanting to learn a little more about the workings of the sport, Robert Earnshaw the Gold Cup winning rider and a retired Steward, will host a free tour of the Weighing Room at 11.15am each day, as well as guide a minibus of racegoers on trips to the starts.

The riders will sign autographs as one of a number of activities that will continue to introduce the riders to a wider audience called “Under Jockeys Orders”.

Away from the track, a brigade of some 80 chefs, backed by a wider raceday team of over two thousand staff, will provide the welcome, services and treats that come with a major sporting event. Seafood will be delivered from the Yorkshire coast every morning including 2,000 crabs, joining Dales lamb and 3,000 home-made beefburgers, Hawes cheeses, 6,000 fresh baked fruit scones and locally made dairy ice cream, on the various menus. A plant-based take on many dishes is available. Ebor Festival racegoers will also discover the refurbished Guinness Bar, next door to the Kylie Minogue Wines Bar.

In terms of betting on course, there will be over 130 bookmakers taking bets, three main William Hill shops and over 180 tote outlets.

Partners support the meeting with Lanson Moët et Chandon Brut Imperial NV and selected bars stocking celebratory fizz from York’s own Champagne House, Gardet Origine and Rosé.

A warm Yorkshire welcome, from local food and drink to flowers, music and racing spectacle, will add colour and character across the Knavesmire.

York is proud of its flowers and floral displays, growing many of its plants from seed or seedling, in the last cycle of awards it won a RHS Yorkshire in Bloom Gold Award. Head Gardner Zac Rafferty has completed an RHS Masters course and has been a judge for the RHS. His work will be oft photographed as part of the Living Flower Wall.

Very much a popular regular, the Ebor Festival this year will again be joined by the free 360-degree selfie camera operating from by the parade ring for racegoers to show off their fashion and capture the moment on social media. To make it easier to share these images or to send pictures of the new development of the chefs in full flow in the main restaurants, or simply to capture the feel-good factor, racegoers will be able to use the free Wi-Fi service installed at the track by local tech firm, Communicate.

The digital age is further embraced with a new interactive supported by the team from ITV7.

Over the week, those seeking musical entertainment will have much choice as two Brass Bands will perform on the Veuve Clicquot Lawn and to the south of the Knavesmire Stand. The Monotones will play to racegoers after the last race into the early evening on each of the four racedays. In a further 2026 innovation, listen for the sound of a sax as you arrive.

On three days, parachute display team, the RAF Falcons, are set to drop in to add to the celebrations.

There will be a record number of nine giant screens relaying the action in HD quality, including screens overlooking the both the Frankel, Veuve Clicquot and Roberto Lawns. There will be a dedicated stop-watch big screen capturing race times and seeing if any of our track records can be lowered.

William Derby, Chief Executive and Clerk of the Course, concluded “The Sky Bet Ebor Festival is simply the highlight of our year, with the prospect of some spectacular racing action. We are all working towards our flagship and cannot wait to welcome everybody to the Knavesmire. I very much hope racegoers, connections, bettors and viewers will enjoy the feast on offer.”