York Racecourse

The Roman era

Racing in York dates back to Roman times, with Arabian horses being sent to Eboracum to precede the arrival of Emperor Septimius Severus in 208 AD, providing entertainment for the troops sent to quell rebellion from the Caledonians. The events were well patronised by those of patrician rank, highly professional and very competitive, although it was more of a team sport than today; team managers hired or fired the riders for the teams they were responsible for. It is also likely that racing at this time took place near to the current site.^[7][8]

Before the Knavesmire

The city corporation is known to have given its support to the sport from 1530, when it took place in the Forest of Galtres.^[9] The Lord Mayor acted as custodian of a silver bell won that year by Oswald Wyllesthorpe.^[10] A famous yearly race for a golden bell was taking place in the nearby Forest of Galtres in 1590^[11] and at this time it was customary to attach the bell to the winning horse's headgear then parade them in triumph.^[12] A receipt saying 'receaved the XXth day of March 1596, fortie five pounds, wone uppon your Lordship's hobbie of Mr Holmes, the Forest race of Galteresse the XXIst of Februarye' was found within the manuscripts of a Duke of Rutland.^[13]

In 1607, rather improvised racing is known to have taken place on the frozen River Ouse, between Micklegate Bar and Skeldergate Postern, during a bitterly cold winter.^[14][10] This was repeated in December 1608.^[15]

Charles I attended racing at York (at this time taking place on Acomb Moor) in 1633, meeting his friend Sir Henry Slingsby; Slingsby's horse would be victorious.^[16] He would be the last reigning monarch to attend racing at York until Elizabeth II in 1972, who came to view the inaugural Benson and Hedges Gold Cup.^[17][2]

By the early 18th century, racing had moved to Clifton Ings, where records of a meeting exist from 1709.^[2] It seems efforts were made to establish this racecourse as a more professional venue, but these efforts were plagued by frequent flooding from the River Ouse.^[9] Queen Anne patronised the racecourse with a hundred-guinea gold cup in 1711, which was to be run for by six-year-olds in two four-mile heats and won by Sampson I.^[13] She would send her own horse for the following year's running (a gelding called Pepper) but was unsuccessful.^[13] It was on a raceday that many figures in the nobility heard of Anne's death in 1714, meaning that they rushed from the Ings to the city to hear the proclamation of King George I by the Archbishop of York.^[17] A horse of Anne's (named Star) had won a £40 plate at York, but she had died by the time the news reached London.^[8]

The course at Clifton Ings was well-attended, with it being said about a 1714 fixture that 'such was the concourse of nobility and gentry that attended York races that one hundred and fifty coaches were at one time on the course'.^[18] However, the flooding issues persisted, with the final straw coming in 1730. A flood meant that a meeting scheduled for a Wednesday was delayed to the Saturday.^[19] Despite all this, racing was still held in high regard, with Simon Scrope writing this in his diary that year:^[20]

Every year there be more noble lords, gentle dames, and commoners of high and low degree at York for the races,... all of one mind, looking on York as the place above all others for sport and sportsmen.

Move to the Knavesmire and growth

On 11 August 1731, racing began on the Knavesmire with the King's Guineas, won by a horse named Monkey.^[4][21][a] This would be a six-day meeting on a horseshoe-shaped course that had been levelled and drained in preparation for racing.^[21] Alderman John Telford built arches and drains on the undrained bog and had the course make a very tight turn around the 'basin', which some jockeys came to regard as a dangerous configuration.^[17]

York was the first centre after Newmarket to formulate a structured race programme, starting in 1751 with the Great Subscription Purses.^[28] Race meetings were often timed to follow the August Assizes, with carriages taking people to watch the races having witnessed the executions that took place at the infamous 'Three-Legged Mare' adjacent to the course.^[21] Executions had begun at the site in 1379 but were brought to an end in 1801.^[8][29] Matchem won the 5yo Great Subscription Purse of 1753 hours after William Smith was hanged for murder.^[30]

The fortunes of the racecourse began to ascend further with the patronage of Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham of Wentworth Woodhouse, a member of the House of Lords from the age of twenty and an avid racing fan.^[31] Using his major political influence, he was patron of both the racing and evening assemblies which were held at the York Assembly Rooms.^[31] He was disappointed in the lack of amenities at the racecourse itself, which had no grandstand and thus meant that attendees watched from the centre of the horseshoe in their carriages.^[31] He therefore commissioned York architect John Carr to design a grandstand,^[30] funded by the sale of 250 five-guinea shares that entitled patrons and their successors to use the stand for the period of the site's lease.^[2][32] It was ready for the 1754 August meeting^[31] and has been said to have been the oldest grandstand (in the modern sense) at any sporting venue in the world.^[33] It was a two-storey building with a rooftop viewing platform; the ground floor featured a rusticated arcade leading into a hall whilst the first floor was filled entirely by a reception room, which had large arched windows and was encircled by a balcony.^[2] The first horse to win a race after the stand was complete was Whistlejacket, immortalised in a painting by George Stubbs.^[20]

In 1770, the Ancient Fraternitie of Ye Gimcracks (the Gimcrack Club) was formed, this being the first ever racing club in the world.^[34] It honoured the diminutive grey horse Gimcrack (a winner of 27 of his 35 races),^[30] despite the fact he didn't win either of his races at York.^[8] The annual dinners were initially held at The Punch Bowl on Stonegate^[30] and an annual Gimcrack Dinner is still held every December, with a speech traditionally given by the winning owner of the Gimcrack Stakes, first run in 1846.^[35][36]

The racecourse was attracting the most successful horses of the age, notably the never-beaten Eclipse. He walked over in His Majesty's 100 Guineas at York in August 1770,^[37] having frightened away all opposition, then beat only two rivals back on the Knavesmire three days later.^[8]

The Knavesmire course, as the name suggests, was often very swampy, and in 1776, heavy rains meant that horses had to race for about fifty yards up to their knees in water.^[38] Racing in the late 18th century also saw scandal, for example when Miss Nightingale (one of the leading mares of the time) had been poisoned and killed just before she was due to race by two pounds of duck-shot found in her stomach; a man named William Turner was charged but was acquitted due to a lack of evidence.^[39]

The racecourse would be visited by George, Prince of Wales and the Duke of York in 1789, with Samuel Chifney victorious on a horse named Traveller which was sold to the prince as a result of the success. However, Chifney would be accused of cheating at York in 1791 after two questionable rides, which began a fall from grace for the royal jockey. He returned to ride at York in 1800, but was seen as so untrustworthy that he was taken off a mount he had ridden to finish last the day before having been accused again of cheating.^[40]

At the August meeting in 1804 Alicia Thornton, who as a result has been called the 'first female jockey', took part in a four-mile horse race at the course.^[41] However, she was unsuccessful as her horse, named Vinagrillio, broke down lame and had to be pulled up.^[42]

At the Peterloo Massacre of 1819, the local military commander General Sir John Byng was absent because he had two horses running at York that day, and delegated command to his deputy, who failed to peacefully disperse the large crowd, resulting in 18 deaths and hundreds of injuries.

Decline and revival

The end of public hangings at the Knavesmire in 1801 was likely a contributory factor in the decline of the fortunes of racing at York.^[8] By the 1820s, the race meeting was beginning to struggle and the quality of the racing declined. The Spring 1828 meeting was so uninspiring that many instead spectated and bet on the cockfighting (taking place near the Assembly Rooms) for their entertainment.^[43] The assemblies were also in decline, with improvements in transportation having reduced the need for rural landowners to keep York townhouses so August race week in the city was no longer the occasion it was.^[43] Many races were reduced to matches or even walkovers,^[44] and only eight horses were entered for a meeting on 16 May 1839.^[19] A new meeting organised by the Hunt Club in October 1835, with music provided by the 10th Royal Hussars, and the introduction of a new race (the Champagne Stakes), still wasn't enough.^[45] York risked being overtaken for prestige by Doncaster, which could boast the St Leger Stakes.^[19] One racegoer lamented that 'a more miserable affair than York August meeting it has never been my misfortune to attend - everything reached the climax of dullness. No company, bad sport and no betting'.^[46]

In 1842, John Orton was appointed clerk of the course by the new Race Committee formed that year, tasked with reviving York Racecourse's fortunes.^[46] Despite the personal hatred of Orton from the powerful Lord George Bentinck, Orton had much success, aided by money coming in.^[47] The City of York Council was also beginning to recognise a need to aid the racecourse further, with Orton having told them that they 'should not be satisfied with dealing us out in such short measure'.^[48] The Great Ebor Handicap was first run in 1843 over two miles for £200, beginning a major revival of the course's fortunes.^[48] All wooden buildings were taken down and replaced by brick, the track was made a circle (although it would revert to a shepherd's crook shape for much of the 20th century), a five-furlong straight was made and the Ebor was reduced to 1¾m.^[48][2]

Orton, hounded by Bentinck, was forced out in 1846 by the pressured Race Committee and would soon die from alcohol abuse.^[47] R M Jaques, appointed clerk of the course in 1843, replaced him in charge and introduced the Gimcrack Stakes that year.^[49] Efforts were also made to combat cheating including substitution of horses, with it being announced by the stewards that no horse would be allowed to race at York unless a vet had examined its mouth.^[50]

York Racecourse was now restored to its rightful status, the revival culminating in The Great Match of 1851. It was dubbed the 'race of the century' and saw Derby winners The Flying Dutchman (carrying 8st 8lbs) and Voltigeur (carrying 8st) battle it out over two miles.^[51] The crowd was estimated at around 150,000, a record for York still standing today,^[6] and one witness described the race:^[51]

When the flag fell Voltigeur went off with the running at the top of his pace, taking a lead of at least 3 lengths, and making very severe play, the heavy state of the ground being taken into account. In this way they rounded the last turn, when Marlow called on the Dutchman with a request very pointedly urged. As they passed the stand it was stride for stride, and a struggle of desperate effort. It was too much for the young one - he tired the sooner: and The Flying Dutchman passed the winning-chair first by a short-length.

Voltigeur would return to York and be victorious in the Flying Dutchman Handicap of 1852, in what turned out to be his final race. He is honoured at York with the Great Voltigeur Stakes, first run in 1950.^[52]

Developments continued apace in the 1850s, with a new Stewards' Stand built in 1851 only to be replaced by another on the north side of the grandstand two years later.^[2]

National Hunt racing began at York in 1858, although it only lasted until 1885 and has not returned.^[53]

The course was served by its own railway station, which only opened on racedays, from 1860. It was located next to Holgate Bridge and closed after August 1939, although the course is still easy to reach from the main railway station by foot or shuttle bus.^[54]

In December 1865, the Race Committee decided to build 'a new Stewards’ Stand with private boxes, retiring rooms, and other accommodation for the use of the stewards and other subscribers to the stand'. Over the following two years, the 1853 Stewards’ Stand was removed and replaced with what is now the Gimcrack Stand.^[2] A saddling paddock and weighing room was built in 1875, and this is now the Press Stand.^[55] The 'Opera Boxes' in between are an early 20th century infill.^[2]

By 1880, a small polygonal stewards’ stand had been erected between the County and Press Stands and around 1884 the Half Crown Stand was built south of the grandstand.^[2] John Carr's grandstand would be redeveloped in 1890, with only the ground floor arcade being retained; two new storeys of seating supported by ornamental iron columns were added and the stand was capable of seating 2,000 racegoers.^[55] The ground floor is still in use today, having been moved eastwards and rebuilt in the early 1900s.^[2] It now serves as a bar, terrace and grill adjacent to the parade ring.^[56]

New lease and wartime

The racecourse had faced closure in 1902 when the Race Committee's annual lease from the Corporation ran out. The Race Committee didn't want the course to fall under municipal control as it had at Doncaster whilst the pasture-masters, with entrenched rights on the Knavesmire, were trying to extract as much rent from the Committee as possible. Although other venues for racing were considered, negotiations were successful and an Act of Parliament extinguished the rights of the pasture-masters and thus saved racing at York; a thirty-five year lease was given by the Corporation and this allowed greater development.^[57][30]

The development that followed the 1907 lease extension was led by Walter Brierley, Yorkshire’s most prominent architect. From 1907 to 1913 he led improvement projects that included extensions to the 1867 County Stand and the 1875 Press Stand, and new crown and half-crown stands. Between 1907 and 1909, the property line of the north end of the racecourse was expanded, allowing the creation of a new boundary wall, entrance gates, bars and a replacement weighing room.^[2][55]

During the Second World War, the racecourse served as a prisoner-of-war camp, with huts constructed in the centre of the horseshoe near the Tote board^[58] which was built in 1922 and designed by Brierley.^[59] The Knavesmire was used to grow grain, potatoes, corn and sugar beet.^[60] Just after the war ended, the course was able to host the Victory St Leger, with the usual venue of Doncaster still not able to host due to unsuitable conditions.^[61][62]

Post-war history

After the war, Major Leslie Petch spearheaded further improvements to the course, first as clerk of the course then as manager.^[62] A new stand to the north of the Press Stand was built in 1957^[55] but all that had gone before would be dwarfed by the five-tier grandstand opened in 1965, which offered an excellent view of the course.^[63] A straight seven-furlong course had also been added^[64] but this would soon disappear at the end of 1973 due to the building of the A64, replaced by a dogleg chute.^[65] In 1962, the course was successful in obtaining a lease that lasts until 2056, securing the racecourse's future.^[64]

The course continued to emphasise quality and attempt to improve further, with Petch visiting courses like Longchamp and Santa Anita to obtain new ideas.^[66] The quality of food being offered in the premier enclosures was becoming of a very high calibre with a vast array of food required for one 1960s Ebor meeting: 400 grouse, 350 chickens, 100 Norfolk ducklings, 500 lbs of Scotch salmon, 500 dover sole, 400 lobster, 150 lbs of smoked salmon and vast amounts of beef, pork and lamb.^[67]

The quality of the racing improved with the International Stakes, first run in 1972. The inaugural running saw Roberto beat Brigadier Gerard, with both horses breaking the course record.^[68] The prize money across the year by 1975 was worth almost £300,000, a figure only exceeded at the time by Ascot and Newmarket.^[63] The course also had a racing museum at this time.^[68]

Disaster befell Willie Carson during the 1981 Ebor meeting, when his mount Silken Knot in the Yorkshire Oaks broke two legs and fell. Five horses would trample over the fallen partnership and Carson escaped death by a fraction. However, he had broken parts of his spine and his left wrist and had a fracture at the bottom of his skull. Silken Knot had to be put down.^[69]

On 31 May 1982, Pope John Paul II visited the racecourse and drew a reported audience of 190,000. Some had turned up at midnight to get a good position to hear the Pope's speech, which celebrated marriage and family life.^[70]

On 22 September 1984, the racecourse hosted its first music concert, headlined by Echo & the Bunnymen.^[71][72] In recent years, concerts have been arranged after race meetings in May,^[73] June and July^[3] and from 2015 to 2017, it hosted the Yorfest.^[74]

Anne, Princess Royal would ride a winner at the racecourse in 1988, being successful in the Queen Mother's Cup (a race for female amateur jockeys) on a horse named Insular.^[75]

Redevelopment remained a regular theme, with the Melrose Stand opening in 1989 followed by the Knavesmire Stand in 1997.^[2] In 2003, the 1965 Stand would be replaced with the Ebor Stand, built at a cost of £12mn.^[76]

The course hosted its first ever Sunday race meeting in 2000, which was a success and attracted a 22,500-strong crowd.^[77] This would be followed by the first evening meeting in 2006.^[30]

In 2005, Royal Ascot was staged at York due to a £185mn redevelopment at its usual home. This meant that the course was reconfigured to be a complete circuit to facilitate the running of races longer than two miles (notably the Ascot Gold Cup).^[78] An attendance of over 224,000 over the five days was attracted, with around 50,000 attending Ladies' Day on the Thursday.^[79]

York hosted the St Leger in 2006, when Doncaster underwent its own redevelopment.^[80]

The 2008 Ebor Festival (which would've been the first in modern times to be over four days, with a Friday added to the Tuesday-Thursday meeting)^[8] had to be cancelled due to wet conditions making the course waterlogged. Some races were rescheduled to Newbury, Newmarket and Goodwood but many were lost.^[81]

During the 2012 London Olympics, the torch visited the racecourse on Day 32 of its relay, with a cauldron being lit by showjumper Harvey Smith after he carried the torch on a horse.^[82] The second stage of the 2014 Tour de France started from the racecourse.^[83]

In 2015, further redevelopment at the racecourse was completed. A new weighing room was built with the Parade Ring Restaurant on the first floor as the centrepiece of a £5mn development.^[84] This also included the relocation of the pre-parade ring, redevelopment of the old pre-parade ring into a raised hospitality lawn, creation of an adjoining champagne bar with rooftop terrace and restoration of the John Carr Stand.^[85]

A new development was opened in 2024, renovating the 1913 Bustardthorpe Stand, originally designed by Walter Brierley. The Roberto Pavilion was built, providing food and betting facilities, and a 900m² lawn and canopy was made behind the stand. The development included a living roof, rainwater harvesting, pollinator flowerbeds and solar panels, part of York Racecourse's commitment to Green Knavesmire 300 (a key part of which is net-zero emissions by 2040).^[86][87] Queen Camilla would open the new development at the 2024 Ebor meeting.^[88]