York’s famous Ebor Festival returns in 2026 from Wednesday, August 19 to Saturday, August 22, bringing together four days of world-class Flat racing at the Knavesmire. The meeting is widely regarded as one of the highlights of the British racing calendar, attracting many of the sport’s biggest stars and featuring almost £7.5 million in prize money across the four days.
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York Ebor Festival 2026 dates
- Wednesday, August 19 – Juddmonte International Day
- Thursday, August 20 – Yorkshire Oaks Day (Ladies Day)
- Friday, August 21 – Nunthorpe Stakes Day
- Saturday, August 22 – Ebor Day
The feature races
The festival features four Group 1 contests, alongside one of Britain’s richest handicaps.
Wednesday – Juddmonte International
The opening day is headlined by the £1.5 million Juddmonte International, one of Europe’s premier middle-distance races over 1m2f. The card also includes the Great Voltigeur Stakes, an important trial for the St Leger.
Thursday – Yorkshire Oaks
Ladies Day is centred around the prestigious Yorkshire Oaks, one of the leading races for fillies and mares. The supporting card also includes the Group 2 Lowther Stakes for two-year-old fillies.
Friday – Nunthorpe Stakes
Speed takes centre stage on Friday with the Nunthorpe Stakes, one of Europe’s leading five-furlong sprints. The day’s programme also features the Gimcrack Stakes and the Lonsdale Cup.
Saturday – Ebor Handicap
The meeting concludes with the Ebor Handicap, Britain’s richest Flat handicap and one of the most prestigious staying handicaps in the world. Saturday’s card also includes the City of York Stakes, Melrose Handicap and Strensall Stakes.
Which horses could feature?
This year’s Juddmonte International could be one of the races of the season should Ombudsman and Constitution River meet. Ombudsman is currently the joint highest-rated horse on the planet, while Constitution River followed up his French Derby success by thumping his rivals in the Eclipse.
Recent Pretty Polly Stakes winner Estrange could bid for back-to-back group one wins in the Yorkshire Oaks. Last year’s winner Minnie Hauk may be her main rival on the day.
Could there be an American winner of the Nunthorpe? Wesley Ward’s speedball Bacio may yet make the trip to York having bolted up in the Palace of Holyroodhouse Handicap at Royal Ascot.
Notable Speech, Lake Forest, Thesecretadversary and True Love are all possible runners in the City of York Stakes, the newest of the group one races at the meeting.
As for the feature of the festival, Ascot Stakes winner Kizlyar is among the leading early fancies for the Ebor. Daiquiri Bay is another Ascot winner who could feature. Hopewell Rock took one of the big handicaps of the week at Glorious Goodwood recently and is another name to note should he take part for his powerful owners Wathnan Racing.
Why is the Ebor Festival so important?
The Ebor Festival is one of the flagship meetings of the British Flat season, sitting alongside Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood as one of the sport’s premier summer festivals. With championship-level racing, huge prize money and capacity crowds expected across all four days, York once again promises to be a must-watch meeting for racing fans.
This £500,000 handicap has also unearthed Group 1 stars such as Trawlerman and last year’s winner Ethical Diamond.
Where to watch York’s Ebor Festival
Every race from York’s Ebor Festival will be live on Racing TV with selected live coverage throughout the week on ITV. BAR 1 Betting customers can also stream every race live on our website & app.
