York racecourse

York Racecourse

York Racecourse logo
Location	York, North Yorkshire
Owned by	York Racecourse Knavesmire LLP
Screened on	Racing UK
Course type	Flat
Notable races	Dante Stakes, Ebor Handicap, International Stakes, Nunthorpe Stakes
Official website

York Racecourse is a horse racing venue in York, North Yorkshire, England. It is the third biggest racecourse in Britain in terms of total prize money offered, and second behind Ascot in prize money offered per meeting. It attracts around 350,000 racegoers per year and stages three of the UK's 31 Group One races – the Juddmonte International Stakes, the Nunthorpe Stakes and the Yorkshire Oaks.

The course is located in the south-west of the city, next to the former Terry's of York factory, The Chocolate Works. It is situated on an expanse of ground which has been known since pre-medieval times as the Knavesmire, from the Anglo-Saxon "knave" meaning a man of low standing, and "mire" meaning a swampy pasture for cattle. For this reason, the racecourse is still sometimes referred to as "The Knavesmire". The Knavesmire was originally common pasture, belonging to the city. It was also the scene of the hanging of Dick Turpin in 1739.

Racing in York dates back to at least Roman times, with some archaeological evidence suggesting that there may have been equine activities that could have included forms of racing on the site of the Knavesmire as early as neolithic times. The city corporation is known to have given its support to the sport from 1530 and, in 1607, racing is known to have taken place on the frozen River Ouse, between Micklegate Tower and Skeldergate Postern. A famous yearly race for a golden bell was taking place in the nearby Forest of Galtres in 1590.

There is some uncertainty over when racing first arrived at the current site. The official stance of York Racecourse itself is that racing was first held on the Knavesmire when York's race meeting was moved in 1730 from a previous site at Clifton Ings which was prone to flooding. This is the line taken by the early racing historian, Pick, who maintained that the first race run over the Knavesmire course was the King's Guineas of 1731. There are multiple attestations to this previous racecourse at Clifton Ings, where racing can be traced back at least as far as 1709 and where, in 1714, "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". The uncertainty lies in the period 1709–1731 and on this, early sources are confusing.