York hopes to top 2019 Ebor festival crowd figure with over 80,000 anticipated

York officials believe crowds at next week's Ebor Festival could rival or even top the 83,000 present the last time the four-day meeting was run in front of paying spectators in 2019.

Around 30,000 were in attendance at the Knavesmire for Sky Bet York Stakes day on July 24, on the first weekend of racing after the lifting of crowd restrictions, and officials are expecting a similar number for the titular Sky Bet Ebor day next Saturday.

Grandstand tickets are sold out for the fourth and final day of the festival, although advance tickets remain for the other three days which are each headlined by a star-studded Group 1: the Juddmonte International, the Darley Yorkshire Oaks and the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes.

Up to 9,000 tickets will remain available each day for the Clocktower Enclosure, reserved for pay-on-the-day customers, the track said.

Clerk of the course William Derby said: "Ticket sales have been encouraging so far. We had 83,000 for Ebor 2019 so we're hopeful of getting close to or above that number. But we're pleased just to be racing in front of crowds again.

William Derby: York's clerk of the course is excited to be playing host to big crowds againCredit: Edward Whitaker

"We have reached our grandstand capacity for Saturday, but people can still come along to the Clocktower Enclosure as that is pay-on-the-day only.

"The rest of the week we have availability for the County Stand and the Grandstand and Paddock area and we hope that the fantastic racing on offer will encourage anyone that's a racing fan in the north of England to come along.

"On Saturday we're expecting to have slightly over 30,000 in attendance so we're really excited to be getting going on what has been a two-year absence to the Ebor Festival for most people."

Derby provided an update on ground conditions, with the going described as good on Saturday. He said: "We're good ground at the moment but we have a low level of confidence about the long-range forecast as we're still a bit away from racing.

"We have the possibilities of showers this weekend and it's a question of whether they clear on Monday and Tuesday. We have not watered in August and we have no imminent plans to do so."

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