York is widely regarded as the best flat racecourse in Britain. A left-handed, wide, galloping track on the Knavesmire with an extensive straight course. The Ebor Festival in August is one of the premier flat meetings, featuring the Juddmonte International and Nunthorpe Stakes.
Course Profile
| Direction | Left-handed |
| Surface | Turf |
| Racing | Flat (1309), All Weather Flat (1) |
| Total races (dataset) | 1,310 |
Top Trainers
| Trainer | Runs | Wins | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|
| W J Haggas | 487 | 83 | 17.0% |
| R A Fahey | 1,204 | 72 | 6.0% |
| T D Easterby | 1,001 | 56 | 5.6% |
| D O’Meara | 918 | 55 | 6.0% |
| A M Balding | 384 | 53 | 13.8% |
| K A Ryan | 709 | 51 | 7.2% |
| K R Burke | 441 | 40 | 9.1% |
| R M Beckett | 264 | 39 | 14.8% |
| M Johnston | 371 | 38 | 10.2% |
| Michael Dods | 317 | 37 | 11.7% |
| J H M Gosden | 130 | 33 | 25.4% |
| Richard Hannon | 328 | 33 | 10.1% |
| Charlie Appleby | 148 | 25 | 16.9% |
| Roger Varian | 245 | 23 | 9.4% |
| John & Thady Gosden | 118 | 22 | 18.6% |
Top Jockeys
| Jockey | Runs | Wins | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|
| D Tudhope | 632 | 63 | 10.0% |
| W Buick | 309 | 44 | 14.2% |
| Tom Marquand | 330 | 44 | 13.3% |
| Oisin Murphy | 305 | 44 | 14.4% |
| L Dettori | 176 | 41 | 23.3% |
| R L Moore | 293 | 38 | 13.0% |
| James Doyle | 251 | 36 | 14.3% |
| Jim Crowley | 247 | 31 | 12.6% |
| Andrea Atzeni | 273 | 30 | 11.0% |
| D Allan | 457 | 28 | 6.1% |
| Jason Hart | 303 | 27 | 8.9% |
| P Hanagan | 361 | 25 | 6.9% |
| Connor Beasley | 234 | 24 | 10.3% |
| S De Sousa | 299 | 24 | 8.0% |
| C Lee | 182 | 21 | 11.5% |
Favourite Performance
Across 1,455 races in the dataset, the market favourite won 387 times — a strike rate of 26.6%.
That’s below the national average (~32%), which makes this a trickier course for favourite backers.
Going Distribution
| Going | Races | % |
|---|---|---|
| Good to Firm | 495 | 37.8% |
| Good | 468 | 35.7% |
| Good to Soft | 227 | 17.3% |
| Soft | 120 | 9.2% |
The most common going description is Good to Firm, accounting for 37.8% of races.
Betting Angles
- W J Haggas has a strong record here with 83 wins from 487 runs (17.0%). Worth noting when they have a runner.
- L Dettori rides this course well: 23.3% win rate from 176 rides.
- Favourites win just 26.6% of the time, which is below average. There’s value in looking beyond the market leader.