Ebor Festival preview: Get the best odds and tips

The Sky Bet York Ebor Festival is here, one of the biggest Flat racing festivals of the entire year. With four days of racing action ahead of us, you rarely have time to take a breath.

The bill is headlined by three Group One races in the form of the International Stakes, the Nunthorpe Stakes and the Yorkshire Oaks, meaning that there will be plenty of opportunities to have a bet on the Ebor Festival at York. 

With that in mind, we’ve picked out some of our preferred bookmakers for you to bet with in this handy guide, as well as gone through the form book to pick out some of the best York Ebor Festival tips for the week ahead.

Hopefully we find you a winning tip to grab you a jackpot in the final furlong. Good luck!

What’s the race schedule for the Ebor festival?

The action rarely takes a pause for breath at the Ebor Festival, with some top-class action across the four days. We’ve listed the five most prestigious races at York’s Ebor Festival below.

Aug 23 - Juddmonte International Stakes

The Ebor Festival kicks off with a bang with the Group 1 International Stakes, a horse race so prestigious it attracts some of the best horses around.

Run over a mile and two furlongs, some recent winners include superstars Sea The Stars (2009), Frankel (2012) and Baaeed (2022).

Aug 24 - Pertemps Network Yorkshire Oaks

The Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks is a horse race for the fairer sex and is open to fillies and mares aged three and up.

The race often proves to be a key pointer for the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp, as Enable and Alpinista have shown in recent years by winning both.

Aug 25 - Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes

Run over five furlongs, this is one of the fastest races in Europe and is a contest of real quality.

Some of the best sprinters in the world have won this over the years and Highfield Princess will bid to join Battaash, Mecca’s Angel and Borderlescott by becoming just the fourth horse to win the race twice this century.

Aug 26 - Sky Bet City of York Stakes

It may not be a Group 1 contest, but the Group 2 City of York Stakes often proves to be an excellent race.

Run over seven furlongs, it is in something of a niche division, but it provided the subsequent Champions Sprint winner last year in the form of Kinross – who is back to repeat the feat.

Aug 26 - Sky Bet Ebor Handicap

The Sky Bet Ebor Handicap is one of the most prestigious and historic handicaps in the world. With a whopping prize pot of £500,000 up for grabs, the competition is sure to be fierce this year.

The Ebor is also the only international race which offers automatic entry into the Melbourne Cup to the winner, meaning that the stakes couldn’t be any higher for those taking part.

Who are the biggest favourites in the festival?

With three Group One races and some highly competitive handicaps on the bill, the betting for York’s Ebor Festival will be fierce.

There are several strongly fancied favourites across the week as a result, which we’ve listed below.

Aug 23 - Juddmonte International Stakes - Paddington

Aidan O’Brien looks to have unearthed another superstar in the form of PADDINGTON, who is the shortest-priced favourite of the entire week. He followed up a stunning victory in the Coral-Eclipse with victory in the Sussex Stakes earlier this month and he’s impossible to oppose as he bids for a fifth straight success at Group One level for his master trainer. 

Aug 24 - Pertemps NetworkYorkshire Oaks - Savethelastdance

It looked a hopeless task for SAVETHELASTDANCE before she pulled it out of the fire in last month’s Irish Oaks under Ryan Moore and she’s a strongly fancied favourite for the Yorkshire equivalent. Second in the Epsom Oaks, she has talent aplenty and will be a formidable opponent on the Knavesmire. 

Aug 25 - Nunthorpe Stakes - Highfield Princess

HIGHFIELD PRINCESS dazzled when winning the Nunthorpe Stakes 12 months ago, so it is no surprise to see her top the markets for this year’s race. She arrives here on the back of an excellent second at Royal Ascot and will be tough to stop on her follow up bid for John Quinn.

Aug 26 - City of York Stakes - Kinross

KINROSS is enjoying an excellent season and arrives here on the back of a game success in Group Two level at Glorious Goodwood. Last year’s Champions Sprint winner thrives at seven furlongs and it’s no surprise to see him at the top of the market once again for this Group Two contest. 

Aug 26 - Ebor Handicap - Sweet William

The nature of the Ebor Handicap as a 20+ runner handicap means that we’re never going to see an odds-on favourite, but with £500,000 in prize money up for the grabs the betting should be fierce. 

SWEET WILLIAM is a strongly fancied 5-1 favourite for John & Thady Gosden. The four year old is on an upward curve having won his last three starts and a booking of a certain Frankie Dettori would surely drive his price in the betting down further.

Facts and stats about York Ebor jockeys and trainers

The Sky Bet Ebor Festival is one of the most exciting racing meetings around and we have picked out some of our favourite stats and facts about the jockeys and trainers who are due to take part at York races this week. 

• Sir Michael Stoute is the joint most successful trainer in the Group One Yorkshire Oaks, though you have to go back to 2004 for his last success, with Quiff and Kieren Fallon.
• John & Thady Gosden are bidding to become the first trainers to win back-to-back renewals of the Ebor Handicap this century. 
• Should Aidan O’Brien win the International Stakes with Paddington, he will become the most successful trainer in the history of the race, as that victory would be his seventh. 
• Richard Fahey has statistically the best record at York Racecourse according to Timeform, with 42 winners over the past five seasons. 
• Danny Tudhope is statistically the jockey with the best record at York Racecourse according to Timeform, with 37 winners from 328 rides over the past five seasons. 
• Jim Crowley has won two of the last four renewals of the Group One Nunthorpe Stakes, on Battaash in 2019 and 2020.
• Rather remarkably, Frankie Dettori is in his fifth decade of riding at the Ebor York Festival. His first Group One winner at York came in the 1993 Nunthorpe Stakes on the Ian Balding-trained Lochsong. 
• Hayley Turner is currently the only female jockey to have ever won the Nunthorpe Stakes, on the Michael Bell-trained Margot Did in 2011. However, Hollie Doyle has a plum ride this year on the well fancied Bradsell.
• Frankie Dettori is the joint most successful jockey in history in the Group One International Stakes, with five wins. His last success came with Authorized back in 2007. 
• Ryan Moore has five Group One victories at the Ebor Festival, though he is yet to win the Nunthorpe Stakes. He has won the International Stakes twice (Notnowcato 2006, Japan 2019) and the Yorkshire Oaks three times (Tapestry 2014, Love 2020 and Snowfall 2021).

Our top York Ebor festival tips

The Ebor Festival boasts some of the most exciting racing around and we’ve gone through the formbook to pick out three York Ebor Festival tips, with some advice to boot. 

If you are still looking for Ebor Festival tips, there are plenty of excellent racing tipsters out there who offer free advice. Tipsters like Andy Holding offer free racing tips, advice and value bets on York races and it is well worth seeking out his views on Oddschecker. 

Aug 23 - Tattersalls Acomb Stakes - Navy Seal to win

The Acomb Stakes regularly proves to be a key pointer towards next year’s Classic races, with the subsequent 2000 Guineas hero Chaldean winning this 12 months ago. It’s a race in which Aidan O’Brien has struggled of late, but he is fancied to pick up his first success in the Group Three contest for 23 years with NAVY SEAL.

The son of Dubawi has an impeccable pedigree as a full brother to the dual Group Three winner Never Ending Story and he looked a nice prospect when getting off the mark at the second attempt at Killarney earlier this month. He ought to have learned plenty from his first two runs and looks a nice bet at 3-1 with William Hill to win this for Ballydoyle.

Aug 24 - Group One Pertemps Network Yorkshire Oaks - Al Husn

AL HUSN continued her remarkable season when striking in Group One company in the Nassau Stakes at Glorious Goodwood earlier this month and she can follow that up with another top-level success here. 

Roger Varian’s charge saw off a top-class field that day to collect a seventh victory from her last eight starts, form which sets the standard here. Savethelastdance is respected after an unlikely-looking success in the Irish Oaks in July, though with stamina looking her forte, she may not be suited if the going is quicker than soft. 

With no ground worries for Al Husn, she looks a great price at 6-1 with Unibet to strike once again.

Fri 25 - Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes - Dramatised

The Nunthorpe Stakes is one of the top sprint races in Europe and DRAMATISED looks a good bet at 9-1 with Bet365 to win this for the Karl Burke team. 

The three-year-old produced an excellent performance to win the Group Two Temple Stakes on her return at Haydock in May and while she was down the field in the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot last time, she was on the wrong side of the draw on that occasion. 

Still lightly-raced, there ought to be more improvement to come from the three-year-old yet and at 9-1 with Bet365, she appeals as an attractively-priced alternative in the betting to last year’s winner - the 13-8 favourite Highfield Princess.

What are the racecourse and weather conditions predicted for the 2023 Ebor festival?

The going is currently Good, Good To Firm in places at the time of writing. There is no rain forecast before Wednesday, meaning that there ought to be a fast racing surface for the first day of the Sky Bet Ebor Festival. 

Rain is then forecast in York on each of the remaining three days, meaning that the surface could prove to be more testing later in the week. Forecasts are subject to change and it is worth keeping an eye on any updates on the racing surface. 

Why is the festival named Ebor?

The Ebor Festival is an historic meeting, dating all the way back to the 1840s. In a nod to its history, the Ebor takes its title from the Roman name for the city of York, Eboracum.

What is the best bet to place on the York Ebor Festival?

The betting markets are busier than ever before, meaning there are many different ways to place a bet on your preferred York tips. If you fancy your selection to win outright, there is a straight win bet, whereas you can also back your horse each-way if your pick is trading at bigger odds and you think your horse will place or show. 

If you bet with the Tote, there are many other different bets you can place, including a placepot, an exacta, a forecast, a tricast and a quadpot. There is also the Scoop 6, which is the British variation of a ‘pick 6’ bet and pays a huge jackpot if you can pick the winners of six selected races. 

When and where to watch the York Ebor festival in 2023

• Location: The Ebor Festival is a four-day racing meeting which is due to take place at York Racecourse this week. The course is located on Racecourse Road, Knavesmire Road, York YO23 1EX.
• Date and time: The festival will begin on Wednesday 23 and comes to a close on Saturday 26 August. 
• TV/Streaming: All four days of the York Ebor Festival are being screened live on ITV1, meaning the whole meeting is available on terrestrial television. Coverage runs on all four days from 1.30pm until 4.30pm, meaning that only the first five races will be shown live on ITV each day. 

If you want to watch every race at the Sky Bet Ebor Festival, you can do so by either tuning into Racing TV, or by placing a bet and streaming the race on one of our recommended bookmakers. 

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• Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
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• Never chase their losses
• Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed

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