York Ebor Festival 2022 – The History of the Meeting

Project Description

The York Ebor Festival is one of the major race meetings in the flat season calendar, attracting racegoers from all over the world. The festival takes place at York Racecourse every August and it dates all the way back to 1843, with the first ever running of the Ebor Handicap.

As a result, the event has established itself as one of the most eagerly awaited races of the season!

Let’s find out more about the York Ebor Festival 2022

The York Ebor Festival 2022 will take place over the course of four days, beginning on August 17^thwith the racing highlights as follows:

Wednesday’s feature race is The Juddmonte International Stakes. This is a Qipco British Champions Series race, a regular target for the best middle-distance horses in Europe. This was introduced in 1972 as the Benson & Hedges Gold Cup, with Derby winner Roberto. And Aidan O’Brien and Sir Michael Stoute share the record of six International victories. In addition, other notable winners include Derby winners Authorized (2007), Sea The Stars (2009) and Australia (2014).

Thursday is Ladies’ Day, featuring the Darley Yorkshire Oaks (a Qipco British Champions Series race) The 1m4f Yorkshire Oaks is a Group One race for fillies and mares and is often the target for the Epsom Oaks winner, with both Love (2020) and Snowfall (2021) doing the double in recent years. And Enable also won both races in 2017, regaining her Yorkshire Oaks crown as a five-year old in 2019.

More thrilling races happening during the four-day festival

Friday features two Qipco British Champions Series races. The Group One Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes and the Group Two Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup. The Nunthorpe Stakes is amongst the most prestigious sprint races in Europe. End (1928-1930) and Sharpo (1980-1982) both deserve a mention for winning for three consecutive years. Battaash is the latest dual winner of the race with back-to-back victories in 2019 and 2020. After that, the Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup is a Group 2, two mile race, and has historically been won by some of the most enduring and popular staying horses in Flat racing, including Further Flight (1992-93), Double Eclipse (1995 & 1997), Persian Punch (1998 & 2001) and Sergeant Cecil (2006). After that, superstar Stradivarius has dominated the race for three out of the last four years. And he will be back again to try to retain his crown in 2022.

Saturday’s highlight is the Sky Bet Ebor Handicap. The race began in 1843, named after a shortened form of Eboracum – Roman name for York. The race stretches over a distance of 1m6f and is one of the most historic races in the calendar. And this is the richest flat handicap in Britain, with a prize money pot of over £500,000.

People often refer to the festival as the “Royal Ascot of the North” for its Group race action and high-quality entertainment. In fact, this is the perfect opportunity to enjoy four days of sporting excellence, superb fashion and great family fun!