Ebor Festival 2027: Racetimes, TV Coverage & Raceday Guide

2027 Festival schedule

The Ebor Festival runs across four afternoons, Wednesday to Saturday, with a Group 1 feature on each of the first three days and Europe's richest flat handicap to close the meeting. Day-by-day, per York Racecourse's own card:

Wednesday: Juddmonte International Day

• Juddmonte International Stakes (Group 1, 1m 2f): the richest race of York's season and an open-age middle-distance championship, ranked the world's best horse race in 2012, 2020 and 2024. Won by Sea The Stars, Frankel, Baaeed and City Of Troy.

Thursday: Yorkshire Oaks & Ladies Day

• Yorkshire Oaks (Group 1, 1m 4f): fillies'/mares' middle-distance championship, regularly the highest-rated race of its kind in Europe. Twice won by Enable. Winners often target the Arc.

Friday: Nunthorpe Day

• Nunthorpe Stakes (Group 1, 5f): the minimum-trip sprint championship of the European summer and the fastest race of the meeting; the course record set in 2019 is under 57 seconds. One of the few Group 1s where two-year-olds can take on their elders.

Saturday: Ebor Day

• Ebor Handicap (Premier Handicap, 1m 6f): the festival's namesake race, first run in 1843, and the richest flat handicap in Europe. 20+ runners typical, and the best each-way betting race of the late summer.

The supporting cards across the four days carry the meeting's Group 2 and Group 3 programme, including the principal two-year-old and staying races of the York season. The day-by-day running order is confirmed with the racecards each morning.

Detail	Value
Festival start	Wednesday 18 August 2027
First race off time	TBA
Going	TBA
Typical daily field size	TBA per Group 1

History and signature races

York has hosted flat racing since 1731, but the Ebor Festival in its modern four-day format dates to 1973 when the course expanded from a three-day August meeting. Each of the four days is now a standalone event in its own right with a Group 1 or major handicap headliner.

The Ebor Handicap itself, the race that gives the festival its name, dates to 1843 and remains one of the most distinctive handicaps in Europe: 1m 6f, open-age, Heritage Handicap status, 20+ runners typical.

The signature races

Juddmonte International Stakes (Wednesday, G1 1m 2f): named after the Juddmonte breeding operation (sponsorship dates to 1992). Former titles include Benson & Hedges Gold Cup and International. The race's roll of honour includes Frankel (2012), Sea The Stars (2009), Sakhee (2001), Authorized (2007), Ulysses (2017), Nashwan (1989), a who's-who of European middle-distance champions.

Yorkshire Oaks (Thursday, G1 1m 4f): the fillies'/mares' counterpart to the Juddmonte. Many Arc winners have used it as their key prep: Enable (2017, 2019), Snow Fairy (2010), Pretty Polly (1904, one of the race's earliest superstars). The race dates to 1849.

Nunthorpe Stakes (Friday, G1 5f): the most democratic Group 1 in Europe because it's open to all ages from 2YO up. Mumtaz Mahal (1923), Dayjur (1990), Lochsong (1993, 1994) are the historic legends. Modern winners include Battaash (2019) who set the course record.

Ebor Handicap (Saturday, Premier Handicap 1m 6f): the richest flat handicap in Europe. Heritage race status; 20+ declared runners typical. Persian Punch (2003) is one of the most famous winners; the race regularly throws up 25/1+ shock winners.

Lowther Stakes (Thursday, G2 6f): the 2YO fillies' championship. Winners have included Tepin, Winter, and many future 1000 Guineas winners.

Frankel at York

The 2012 Juddmonte International remains the defining modern performance at the festival. Frankel won his first race over 1m 2f in the softest of going, beating Farhh by 7 lengths while his trainer Sir Henry Cecil watched terminally ill in a wheelchair at the rail. A 2022 statue of Frankel was unveiled at York in his memory.

Recent champions

This section updates after each year's meeting. See /racing-news/ for the most recent race result articles.

TV coverage and how to watch

The 2027 Ebor Festival is broadcast on ITV1 (selected races, free-to-air UK) and Racing TV (full four-day card).

UK terrestrial: ITV1 / ITVX

ITV Racing's Ebor Festival coverage typically runs from 1:30pm on each of the festival's four afternoons, carrying the Juddmonte International (Wed), Yorkshire Oaks (Thu), the Nunthorpe (Fri) and the Ebor Handicap (Sat). Not every festival race airs on ITV, only the Group 1s and the headline handicaps.

ITVX carries the shown races live and on demand after the event, free to UK viewers.

Racing TV

Racing TV carries the full four-day festival (~28 races across Wed-Sat) with extensive pre- and post-race analysis. Racing TV's Ebor Festival Pass is typically offered as a four-day bundle, the best value if you want every race.

Sky Sports Racing

Sky Sports Racing does not hold rights to the Ebor Festival. York is on Racing TV and selected ITV. Sky Sports Racing will cover complementary UK afternoon fixtures (typically Ripon, Salisbury or Bath).

International

• Ireland: Racing TV (via UPC / Sky Ireland) carries the full festival.
• US: TVG / FanDuel Racing for the Group 1s; US-turf punters follow the Juddmonte closely.
• Australia: Sky Thoroughbred Central carries the Nunthorpe and selected races.
• Japan: Green Channel, and Japanese owners regularly target the Ebor Festival.

Replays

ITVX (free) + Racing TV (subscriber) keep the races on demand. The Racing Post and York's official YouTube channel post the Group 1 race videos within hours of each race.

Off-time reminders

York's first race each day is around 1:55pm, and the festival runs seven races per afternoon. The big-field Ebor Handicap (~20 runners) on the Saturday typically loads a little slower than the Group 1s; expect TBA to move by 2-3 minutes on that one. Group 1s run to tight schedule with ITV.

Raceday at York

Getting there

York Racecourse (the Knavesmire) is at York, North Yorkshire, YO23 1EX, 1.5 miles south of York city centre. The nearest station is York (LNER, GNER, TransPennine Express, direct from London Kings Cross in ~2 hours), then a 20-minute walk or short taxi/park-and-ride bus to the Knavesmire.

Drivers: A64 from the M1 (Junction 32) via Leeds, or A1(M) then A64 from the south. Multiple car parks: Centre Course (Category 1), Railway Car Park, Terry Avenue. Premium parking requires advance booking.

The enclosures

Four tickets for the Ebor Festival:

• County Stand: the premier enclosure, best grandstand views, hospitality options. Smart day-dress expected.
• Grandstand & Paddock: main public enclosure with excellent paddock and rails access.
• Clocktower Enclosure: mid-course enclosure with bars and big-screen viewing.
• Course Enclosure: budget option on the far side with picnic space. No dress code.

Ebor Festival tickets sell in advance, so book by mid-July for County Stand. Ladies' Day (Thursday) sells fastest.

On the day

• Gates open around 11:00am.
• First race is usually 1:55pm.
• Group 1 feature is typically the fourth race, around 3:35pm, and exact times vary day by day.
• Parade ring is busy 30 minutes before each feature, so worth being there for the Juddmonte, Yorkshire Oaks and Nunthorpe.
• The Knavesmire: York's course is known as one of the fairest in Britain: wide, flat, with minimal camber. Draw bias is usually minor; galloping gallopers have the advantage.

Dress code

County Stand: smart day-dress expected. Men typically suit + tie for Group 1 days; women wear dresses with hats or fascinators. Ladies' Day (Thursday) is the festival's dress-up highlight, so full hats on. Grandstand & Paddock: no strict code but festival crowd is well-dressed. Clocktower / Course: no dress code.

Food and drink

York has extensive hospitality including the Northern Hospitality packages. Standard food outlets across all enclosures offer traditional Yorkshire fare (pork pie, fish and chips) alongside street-food traders. Bars across all enclosures. The Course Enclosure is picnic-friendly.

Betting

Tote facilities and on-course bookmakers across all enclosures. ATM cash machines on-site, and expect queues on Nunthorpe Friday and Ebor Saturday which are the two biggest betting days. Bring cash for the rails. Our bookmaker comparison guide covers online alternatives for betting from the stand. For a different angle on the week, our AI tipster tracker for the 2026 festival follows five AI models against the market's own favourite through the meeting, published in full whichever way it lands.

Sources & verification

Race details, dates, prize money and trends in this piece were cross-checked against:

• Wikipedia: Ebor Festival
• York Racecourse: official site
• Racing Post: Ebor

[Source: cross-referenced as of the lastUpdated date in this article's meta.yaml.]