The four fantastic days of the Sky Bet Ebor Festival came to a Royal close on Saturday 24 August, when Her Majesty The Queen conducted the Official Opening Ceremony of the new Bustardthorpe Development.

Later in the afternoon, the Royal Patron of York Racecourse presented the trophy to the connections of Magical Zoe, the winning horse in the £500,000 Sky Bet Ebor.

This success, meant that Next Door But One CIC  were the winning charity in the Sky Bet Ebor Community Sweepstake, receiving a donation of £20,000 towards their award-winning LGBTQ+ and disability-led theatre in the city.

The Queen was able to watch live as a horse in her own colours, Reaching High, in the Sky Bet Melrose Stakes, was ridden by locally based jockey, Danny Tudhope.

The preceding weekdays had produced a notable champion in each of the Group One contests. City of Troy confirmed his rating as the best turf in the world today, when victorious in the richest ever race staged at York, the Juddmonte International. Running for the same connections, Content, contributed to a memorable week for trainer Aidan O’Brien and team Coolmore when winning the Group One Pertemps Network Yorkshire Oaks.  On Friday, Bradsell, a horse that had registered his maiden win when successful on the Knavesmire in May of 2022 returned win the fastest contest of the four days, the Group One Coolmore Wotton Basset Nunthorpe Stakes.

Racegoers supported the festival in similar numbers to last year, which is a tribute to them as Hurricane Ernesto and Storm Lillian meant the Yorkshire weather was a little wild, in an economic climate which remains challenging for many people.

A record investment in prize money of £6.85m (+£450k on 2023) across the Sky Bet Ebor Festival delivered fantastic racing action with an 8% increase in runners, to a record 393, making an average field size of just over 14.

Commenting on the Sky Bet Ebor Festival, Chief Executive and Clerk of the Course William Derby said; “A memorable four days reached a truly memorable finale when we were honoured to welcome Her Majesty, The Queen to the Knavesmire. Our Royal Patron spent time with members of the team who delivered both the Bustardthorpe Development and the wider festival. The whole team at York can reflect proudly on a hugely enjoyable Sky Bet Ebor Festival, where world class racing and enthusiastic and knowledgeable racegoers made for a wonderful atmosphere. Our thanks to everyone who supported the meeting and made for such a wonderful week. In the end, even the wind finally abated, meaning everyone could enjoy the top-class racing and everything else the Sky Bet Ebor Festival had to offer. Despite the economic headwinds, we are delighted that the York Race Committee took a long-term view to invest all data and betting related media rights, including from World Pool, back into prize money. It was rewarded by such fantastic racing, large field sizes and a real buzz. We hope everyone enjoyed the showpiece, whether they were with us or following from afar.”