Action for the 2024 season at York Racecourse gets underway with the three-day Dante Festival starting on Wednesday 15 May, the first of twelve dates that are also Premier Racedays.

Prize money over the three days of the Dante Festival alone is more than £1.5m, it will also set the tone for the raceday experience for the days that follow.

Over the course of the new season at York, the Southern End Development will be opened, intended to improve the experience of the Grandstand & Paddock racegoer. The multi - million upgrade will see the opening of the Roberto Pavilion in May. By the time of the Official Opening at the Sky Bet Ebor Festival in August, wrought iron gates that remember Yorkshire Owner-Breeder Reg Bond, the Churchill Tyres Lawn & Canopy as well as improved Theakston Bar, new William Hill Betting Shop plus additional toilets, will all be added.

A selection of Heineken beers such as Birra Moretti will join North Yorkshire brewed ales from the famous Theakston stable, being served across the site including an IPA created especially for the Knavesmire racegoer. Operating as a guest ale in this new site and in the Flying Frankie pub, it will retail at £6.20 for a pint.

Champagne of the Meeting priced at £43 will be widely available.

The refreshed look continues in the Edwardian Weighing Room, where a new range of both local & continental cheeses will match carefully chosen wine by the glass. The York Kitchen & Café will continue to offer its homemade signature dishes, such as a range of deep filled Yorkshire Puddings for £12.95 and a “pie & beer” combo deal for £12.50.

Regulars and those yet to discover the Alcoves in the County Stand will find a bright new look courtesy of a partnership with Tanqueray/Schweppes, in this Edwardian setting adjacent to the main lawns.

Richard Fahey begins the defence of what was an astonishing tenth leading trainer title at York with competition again set to be fierce for the Charles Clinkard backed Top Trainer Trophy; a cash prize of £2,500 will go to the winning stable, alongside a complimentary Christmas Party and a fine pair of shoes. William Buick added a York crown to his national title success, as the riders battle for the Living North Magazine Top Jockey Trophy as well as £2,500. All 117 contests on the Knavesmire will offer at least £100 to the groom responsible for the best turned out horse.

New for this season, will be the Decron Horse & Handler Rewards Scheme, a fun idea that will see every winning horse and yard receive a jumbo pack of Polo Mints (32 tubes) and Yorkies (24 bars), respectively. The two famous confectionary brands are made in the home city of the track.

York will be supporting Racing Welfare, throughout the season beginning with in its Mental Health Awareness Week activity, which will have a particular focus on the opening day. In wider regard, York is proud to be staging the 53rd Macmillan Charity Raceday on Saturday 15 June, it is the biggest raceday of its kind in Britain having already raised over £10m for good causes. The York Racecourse local charity partnership programme will see the track continue to work with Clifton Green Primary School. Joined for 2024 by Brainkind, an innovative, purpose-built independent hospital providing specialist neurobehavioural assessment and post-acute rehabilitation for people with a non-progressive acquired brain injury, which is a near neighbour of the racecourse. The third local charity partner 2024 will be The Blueberry Academy who provide specialist support in the city for young people and adults with learning differences, autism, social, emotional and mental health needs and/or other disabilities.  

York are pleased to continue complimentary guided behind-the-scenes tours before racing and minibus trips to the start for racegoers. These will be taken by former professional jockey and winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Robert Earnshaw, as another example of initiatives to further explain the sport and get racegoers closer to the action.

In a similar vein, the Festival will see the runners & riders page of the racecard presented in some innovative styles. On each day , the feature Group 2 contest will benefit from the SmartView treatment courtesy of the Racing Post. While, on Thursday, the new “simplified racecard” that forms part of the Premier Raceday initiative will be available as a standalone guide to all seven contests.

On most days of the season, racegoers will get a chance to meet the equine ambassador to the Knavesmire, Remy. Now aged fifteen, the retired racehorse will be better known to fans of the sport as Goldream, the dual Group One winning sprinter for Robert Cowell. Set to visit across the season, he will showcase the work of New Beginnings, a local charity that helps horses with new careers once their racing days have drawn to a close.

The appropriate use of technology is a recurring theme at the track voted as Best in Britain by both the Racegoers Club and Racehorse Owners Association when last awarded in 2019, as an example, rapid cash, credit card & contactless payment is available at all the permanent food and drink outlets. The Frankel Lawn will offer the chance to have food delivered through use of QR code technology.

The Tote SP Guarantee scheme will be in operation on all days, offering a strong reason for racegoers to use the pool-based betting operation that is so closely aligned with the health of UK racing. Punters will get detailed information as well as away racing on the dedicated television channel known as DAR, as it is focused on Data and Away Racing.