With Glorious Goodwood now a memory, the 2025 flat season rolls into late August, as York takes centre stage for the 2025 Ebor Festival.
Twenty eight races are scheduled to take place on The Knavesmire, with 10 Group contests featuring across the four-day meeting.
It also plays host to the Sky Bet Ebor Handicap, the Festival’s namesake-race running on the final day of the Festival.
The event serves as one of the final major flat-festivals to take place, attracting prestigious yards and packed out grandstands.
Here is everything you need to know as the racing world descends on North Yorkshire.
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When is the 2025 Ebor Festival?
This year’s Festival will commence on Wednesday, August 20, with day one’s card opening with the Hong Kong Jockey Club World Pool Stakes Heritage Handicap.
Worth £120,000 in prize money, it kicks off the four-day meeting and ‘Juddmonte International Day’ where the card is highlighted by the (Group One) Juddmonte International Stakes – one of three Group Races on the first day.
It is the most valuable race ran at the event, awarding £1.25m in prize money.
Day two is all about the (Group One) Pertemps Network Yorkshire Oaks, serving as the feature on the second day which is opened by the (Group Two) Sky Bet Lowther Stakes.
The third day plays host to the (Group Two) Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Gimcrack Stakes, before the (Group One) Coolmore Wooten Basset Nunthorpe Stakes hits the spotlight.
Each of the three days serve as a fitting appetiser for the final day, where both the (Group One) Sky Bet City Of York Stakes and the Sky Bet Ebor Heritage Handicap feature.
All feature races are due off at 3:35pm on their respective days.
Trainers to watch
It was no surprise to see leading Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien add to his Group One tally at Glorious Goodwood.
The week saw Ballydoyle take victory in the Goodwood Cup, though not through their shorter-priced runner.
Oaks-hatrick scorer Illinois was chinned by stablemate Scandinavia to win the first Group One race of the week, before Pretty Polly Stakes winner Whirl added to her fine campaign, by winning the Nassau Stakes.
O’Brien-trained horses will forever remain a threat at any course in which they embark on, given O’Brien’s plethora of prestigious race wins.
He is top of the British Champion Trainer standings, leading Andrew Balding by around £700,000 in prize money – despite having had over 600 fewer runners this season.
Balding, however, also enjoyed a Glorious Goodwood at which he took home the Festival’s top trainer prize.
He edged out Ralph Beckett with the number of placed horses Balding had, after the pair saw their horses win four races each.
It added to a good couple of weeks for Balding, with his yard claiming victory in the (Group Two) Summer Mile at Newmarket’s July Meeting and – at this course – in the John Smiths Cup.
He will arrive here to a course where he and Kevin Burke have recorded the joint-most number of winners this season (6).
Beckett’s Goodwood was highlighted by a double on day two’s card, featuring the unlikely winner of the (Group One) Sussex Stakes – Qirat.
Though seen as a likely pacemaker for star Juddmonte-teammate Field Of Gold, the 150/1 shot defeated the fast-finishing Rosallion to become the highest-priced winner of the race.
Beckett is currently fifth in the trainer standings, behind both Charlie Appleby and joint father/son duo John and Thady Gosden.
The former enjoyed a July meeting at which he teamed with regular owners Godolphin to win seven races.
He will hope to add to his collection of race wins this season, including his Guineas double back in April.
The Gosdens, meanwhile, were the unfortunate trainers of Field Of Gold, who couldn’t replicate his form from Royal Ascot and The Curragh.
Other trainers to watch include course specialist Ruth Carr, who has had four winners from seven runners, and William Haggas – who’s yard is in fine form.
Three winners at Glorious Goodwood (two Group Three’s and a Class Two Handicap) contribute to his yard’s 33% win rate over the last two weeks.
He is sixth in the trainer standings with Richad Hannon in seventh.
Both have trained four winners at York this campaign, though Hannon has had nine fewer runners (11).
Jockeys to watch
Should Ballydoyle send a challenger to the North Yorkshire countryside, Ryan Moore will likely follow suit.
Earlier this season, he and O’Brien made it 150 Group One winners when the two combine, after Whirl defeated Balding’s filly Kalpana to win the Pretty Polly Stakes.
They have since added to that, most recently with the same horse at Glorious Goodwood, in a week which saw Moore ride four winners.
However, it was four-time British Champion Jockey Oisin Murphy that took home the top jockey prize.
His six winners helped keep him clear at the top of jockey standings, despite controversy in his personal life that has seen him charged with drink driving.
Murphy will also arrive in form, boasting a 30.77% win rate from his last 26 rides.
He has ridden six winners on The Knavesmire this season, one fewer than Clifford Lee but from seven fewer rides.
Lee himself is in form, winning four of his last 16 rides but it is Hector Crouch who holds the best record at York this season – 29%.
Both himself and Tom Marquand have saddled four winners at the North Yorkshire-course, with the former doing so in eight less rides.
Crouch is the closest to Murphy in the jockey standings, with Marquand following behind – they sit seventh and ninth respectively.
In a tight battle for second in the standings, only seven winners separate Billy Loughnane in second and Marquand.
Guineas-double winner William Buick will hope he can get back to winning ways after seeing only three of his last 36 rides finish first past the post.
Whilst Rossa Ryan is in similarly poor form, seeing only three of his previous 56 horses win.
How to watch the 2025 Ebor Festival on TV?
ITV will screen their ITV Racing programme, which will show the first five races from each of four days, live and for free, on terrestrial TV.
Racing TV will show all the action live and exclusive for their subscribers.
By Callum Close
