18+. New customers only. Min deposit £5. Bet £10 and get £30 in Bet Credits. Bet Credits paid on settlement of qualifying bets; stake not returned. Min odds 1/5. Time limits and T&Cs apply. GambleAware.org
Ebor Festival Betting: Juddmonte International, the Ebor and York's Best Offers
Four days on the Knavesmire, with four Group 1s and Europe's richest flat handicap. Here is the running order, what the last two renewals taught us and which bookmakers suit a York week.
By Horse.bet Team · Updated 24 October 2026 · Offers checked
New bet365 customers only. Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Registration required. The bonus code 365GMBLR can be used during registration but does not change the offer amount in any way. Time limits and T&Cs apply. 18+. GambleAware.org
New customers only. Register, deposit with Debit Card, and place first bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get 3 x £10 in Sports Free Bets & 2 x £10 in Acca Free Bets within 10 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility & payment exclusions apply. Full T&Cs apply. Min deposit £10. 18+. GambleAware.org
New UK+ROI Customers only. Certain deposit methods & bet types excl. Min first £5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 to get 6 x £5 free bets (selected sportsbook markets only, valid 7 days, stake not returned). Restrictions + T&Cs apply. Min deposit £5. 18+. GambleAware.org
New customers only. Deposit £10 and place a first real-money bet of £10 (or £5 each way) on any sport at odds of evens (2.0) or bigger using the 100% Odds Boost token; extra winnings paid in cash on settlement. Max boosted stake £10; staking less forfeits the remainder. Fractional odds only. Token activates within 24 hours and must be used within 60 days of registration. Football: 90-minute markets only. PayPal and Paysafecard deposits excluded. Not available to Republic of Ireland residents. T&Cs apply. 18+. GambleAware.org
The meeting
York Ebor Festival 2027: Four Days on the Knavesmire
The Ebor Festival runs from Wednesday 18 to Saturday 21 August 2027, the dates in the BHA fixture list. It is the high point of York's season and, for many racegoers, of the whole northern summer: four afternoons on the Knavesmire, where racing is believed to have started in 1731.
The meeting carries four Group 1s. The Juddmonte International opens it on Wednesday, the Yorkshire Oaks follows on Thursday, the Nunthorpe Stakes brings the sprinters on Friday, and Saturday pairs the City of York Stakes, upgraded to Group 1 in 2025, with the Sky Bet Ebor, the handicap that gives the festival its name and, at £500,000, Europe's richest flat handicap.
The money at the top has grown too. The 2026 Juddmonte International was run for £1.5 million, the richest race ever staged at York, and the winner took £850,650. The day-by-day order below follows the 2026 card, when the meeting ran from 19 to 22 August.
York is a fair, galloping track, which means fewer excuses and more reliable form than at quirkier courses. The handicaps are big, though, and the Ebor is capped at 22 runners, so each-way terms and Best Odds Guaranteed matter. Our best horse racing betting sites guide ranks the bookmakers on those terms, and the York racecourse guide covers the Knavesmire in more detail.
Running order
Ebor Festival Schedule: Feature Races and Off Times
Days follow the 2026 programme. Prize money is the 2026 figure where published; off times are the 2026 times.
The Juddmonte International: York's championship race
Run over an extended mile and a quarter for three-year-olds and up, the International is where the best three-year-olds meet the leading older middle-distance horses. Eight ran in 2026, and the world's top-rated horse was beaten.
The Ebor: Europe's richest flat handicap
A heritage handicap over about a mile and six furlongs, the Ebor is limited to 22 runners, ranked by official rating, so a horse can be entered and still miss the cut. The weights are set by the handicapper to bring the field together, and the race regularly finishes in a blanket: the first three in 2026 were separated by a head and a neck. Our handicap races explained guide covers how the ratings and weights work.
Runners and declarations for each day are on our York racecards.
The market
Juddmonte International Odds and Ebor Ante-Post Betting
Ante-post markets on the Juddmonte International, the Yorkshire Oaks, the Nunthorpe and the Ebor form late. The Ebor field cannot take shape until the summer handicaps have set the ratings, and the International depends on which Classic horses are kept in training and how they come out of Royal Ascot and Goodwood.
The 2026 starting prices show how differently the big races played out. Favourites won three of the four Group 1s; the International and the Ebor went to 10/1 shots.
Race (2026)
Winner
SP
Juddmonte International
Item
10/1 (Ombudsman 5/6 fav, fourth)
Yorkshire Oaks
Kalpana
10/11 fav
Nunthorpe Stakes
Bacio
3/1 fav
City of York Stakes
Notable Speech
9/4 fav
Sky Bet Ebor
Daiquiri Bay
10/1
An ante-post bet on a horse not yet sure to run is only worth having with non-runner no bet terms, as our ante-post betting guide explains. For prices on the day, the live widget tracks every UK race.
● Live odds
Today’s racing: best prices
Prices updated 12:01 · Odds can change
William Hill Epic Boosts Novices' Limited Handicap Steeple Chase2m4f44y · Good · 9 runners
18+. Prices via The Racing API; check the price on the bet slip before you bet. GambleAware.org
Betting guide
How to Bet on the Ebor: Each-Way Terms, BOG and Extra Places
A 22-runner handicap and three short-priced Group 1s call for different approaches. These concessions decide how much a York bet is worth.
Each-way terms. In a handicap of 16 runners or more, the standard each-way terms are a quarter of the odds for four places. On a race the size of the Ebor, many bookmakers pay extra places; Betfred runs Extra Place and Super Extra Place races, and Ladbrokes names Extra Place races each day from 3pm the day before. Our extra places guide explains the trade-offs.
Best Odds Guaranteed. Back a horse on the day and, if it starts at a bigger price, you are paid at SP. bet365 and Betfred start BOG at 8am; Grosvenor Sport starts at 9am and covers multiples. Ladbrokes requires a one-off opt-in and caps the extra payout at £10,000 a day.
Check the exclusions. Betfred's Super Extra Place bets sit outside Best Odds Guaranteed, so choose between the extra place and the price guarantee before you bet, not after the off.
Non-runner no bet and Rule 4. Standard ante-post bets are lost if your horse misses the race. With the Ebor capped at 22, a horse can miss the cut as well as be withdrawn, so NRNB terms carry real value. Late withdrawals on the day bring Rule 4 deductions on winning bets.
Our each-way calculator shows what a fifth or sixth place is worth on an Ebor bet, and the bet calculator handles a Lucky 15 across the four days.
Group 1 betting
Fields in the Group 1s are much smaller: eight ran in the 2026 International. In small fields each-way terms shrink, so win singles taken on the morning with Best Odds Guaranteed are the more natural bet.
The draw
York Draw Bias: What the Ebor and the Sprints Showed
At The Races' course guide finds no general draw bias at York, and the wide, flat track is fairer than most. But individual races can still turn on the stalls, especially when the field is big and the ground is easy.
The 2026 Ebor was a case in point. Daiquiri Bay won from stall 1, Hopewell Rock was second from 3, Opportunity third from 6 and Ascending fourth from 9: the first four all came from the lower half of a 22-runner draw. In the Nunthorpe, by contrast, Bacio won from stall 5 with the runner-up from 10 and the third from 8, and there was no clear pattern.
With the going good to soft for the last three days of the 2026 meeting, check the official report each morning; our going guide explains how soft ground changes the shape of a race, and our guide to reading a racecard shows where the draw appears on the card.
Form guide
Juddmonte International, Ebor, Yorkshire Oaks and Nunthorpe Winners
Race
2026 winner (SP)
Jockey / trainer
2025 winner (SP)
Jockey / trainer
Juddmonte International
Item (10/1)
Colin Keane / Andrew Balding
Ombudsman
William Buick / John & Thady Gosden
Yorkshire Oaks
Kalpana (10/11 fav)
Colin Keane / Andrew Balding
Minnie Hauk (8/15)
Ryan Moore / Aidan O'Brien
Nunthorpe Stakes
Bacio (3/1 fav)
Juan Hernandez / Wesley Ward
Asfoora (11/1)
Oisin Murphy / Henry Dwyer
Sky Bet Ebor
Daiquiri Bay (10/1)
Rossa Ryan / Alan King
Ethical Diamond (5/1 fav)
William Buick / Willie Mullins
The 2026 International was the upset of the week. Ombudsman, the 2025 winner and the world's top-rated horse, went off at 5/6 but struggled for a clear run on the rail and finished fourth. Item, a three-year-old who had finished ninth in the Derby, led only in the final yards to beat Almaqam by a head, with Constitution River third. A year earlier Ombudsman had beaten Delacroix by three and a half lengths.
Andrew Balding and Colin Keane completed a Juddmonte double the next day when Kalpana, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner, held Sparan Nua by a short head in the Yorkshire Oaks, with the 2025 winner Minnie Hauk third. On the Saturday, Notable Speech won the City of York Stakes at 9/4 for Charlie Appleby and William Buick.
The Nunthorpe has gone abroad twice running: Asfoora won for Australia in 2025, and Wesley Ward's Bacio, already a winner at Royal Ascot, for the United States in 2026. In the Ebor, Daiquiri Bay gave Alan King a 10/1 winner by a head from Hopewell Rock, a year after Willie Mullins won with the 5/1 favourite Ethical Diamond.
Betting angles
Ebor Festival Tips: Trends From the Knavesmire
Selections can wait for the declarations. These patterns, drawn from the race records, are the ones worth carrying into the week.
Yorkshire Oaks: follow the market. The favourite won in both 2025 and 2026, Minnie Hauk at 8/15 as the Oaks winner and Kalpana at 10/11 as the King George winner. Top-class form tends to hold up in a small field.
Nunthorpe: experience counts. The race is open to two-year-olds, but the last juvenile to win was Kingsgate Native in 2007. Bacio, the 2026 winner, had won the Palace of Holyroodhouse Handicap at Royal Ascot two months earlier.
Respect the overseas sprinters. Australia and the United States have won the last two Nunthorpes, so foreign challengers deserve a close look rather than a quick dismissal.
Ebor: Irish jumps yards. Willie Mullins has won it three times, with Sesenta in 2009, Absurde in 2023 and Ethical Diamond in 2025, and he ran the 7/2 favourite Love Me Tender in 2026. Dual-purpose stayers from top National Hunt yards belong on the shortlist.
International: odds-on is no certainty. Ombudsman at 5/6 was beaten in 2026 by a 10/1 shot. In a small field, one rough passage on the rail can settle the race.
Ebor: a low draw helped in 2026. The first four came from stalls 1, 3, 6 and 9. One year is not a rule, but it is worth noting where the pace is drawn.
For live form and runners on the day, see today's racing. The Flat season's last big afternoon comes at Ascot on British Champions Day, where Notable Speech, Kalpana and Minnie Hauk all ran again in 2026.
TV and streaming
Watching the Ebor Festival: ITV Racing Coverage
Day (2026)
Channel
Time
Wednesday to Friday
ITV1, ITVX, STV, STV Player
1.30pm to 4.30pm, five live races
Saturday
ITV1, ITVX, STV, STV Player
1.15pm to 4.30pm, five live races
Saturday morning
ITV and YouTube
The Opening Show, 9.30am to 10.30am
Ed Chamberlin and Francesca Cumani presented ITV's 2026 coverage, with Ruby Walsh analysing and Richard Hoiles on commentary. Every race is streamed by the major bookmakers: Grosvenor Sport shows British and Irish racing free to customers with a positive balance or a bet in the past 24 hours, and bet365 streams UK, Irish and French racing to funded accounts.
The track
York Racecourse: Knavesmire Course Notes
York is a left-handed circuit of around two miles, very flat, with sweeping bends that suit long-striding gallopers. Five- and six-furlong races are run on a straight course, while seven-furlong races start from a chute with a left-handed elbow into the home straight.
The track is wide and fair, without the ridges and cambers of Goodwood or Epsom. At The Races finds no draw bias, though in recent seasons fields have tended to race down the centre, especially on testing ground. Front-runners are often caught around the furlong marker, so horses with a late run tend to come into their own.
Soft ground can make York a real test of stamina. In 2026 the going was good to soft for the last three days of the meeting, so form on easy ground is worth checking before you bet.
Questions
Ebor Festival betting FAQs
When is the Ebor Festival 2027?
The Ebor Festival runs from Wednesday 18 to Saturday 21 August 2027 at York, according to the BHA fixture list.
What day is the Ebor in 2027?
Based on the 2026 programme, the Sky Bet Ebor is on the final day, Saturday 21 August 2027. It was off at 3.35pm in 2026.
When is the Juddmonte International 2027?
On the opening day, Wednesday 18 August 2027, if York keeps the 2026 order. The 2026 race was off at 3.35pm and worth £1.5 million.
How much is the Ebor worth?
The 2026 Sky Bet Ebor was worth £500,000, with £300,000 to the winner. It is Europe's richest flat handicap.
How many runners are in the Ebor?
The field is capped at 22, ranked by official rating. Twenty-two ran in 2026.
Who won the Ebor in 2026?
Daiquiri Bay, ridden by Rossa Ryan and trained by Alan King, won at 10/1. Ethical Diamond won for Willie Mullins in 2025.
Who won the Juddmonte International in 2026?
Item, trained by Andrew Balding and ridden by Colin Keane, at 10/1. He beat Almaqam by a head, with the 5/6 favourite Ombudsman fourth.
Is the Ebor Festival on ITV?
Yes. In 2026 ITV Racing showed five live races a day on ITV1, ITVX and STV across all four days.
How should I bet on the Ebor?
Each way, with a bookmaker paying extra places, is the natural approach in a 22-runner handicap. Set a budget before the week starts and stick to it; free, confidential support is available at GambleAware.org.
