UP TO 30,000 race-goers are due to descend on York today for the biggest day of the city's racing calendar which is this year marking a landmark anniversary. Here, we turn the clock back 50 years to where it all began.
The 50th John Smith's Cup will be staged at York Racecourse after it has emerged as one of the region's biggest flat races of the season and now boast prize money of £150,000.
It is also Britain's longest continuous commercially-sponsored flat race after Fougalle became the first winner when it was staged with the backing of the famous Tadcaster-based brewery in 1960.
Watch rare colour footage of the 1960 event at York »While sponsorship deals are now synonymous with major sporting events, such as football's Champions League and The Ashes, the John Smith's Cup was among the first major contracts to be signed.
York Racecourse's head of marketing, James Brennan, said: "The deal with the John Smith's brewery is hugely important, and it means we can continue to reinvest in racing in York.
"It is a great piece of social history as well. The coach trips which were first staged for the John Smith's brewery staff and pub workers back in the 1960s are still happening, but it is often now three generations of the same family who are coming to the racecourse.
"It is the biggest single day on York's racing calendar, and we are hoping for good crowds today to celebrate the landmark 50th race."
The Armed Forces will help mark today's occasion when pilots from RAF Linton-on-Ouse will perform a diamond-formation flypast over the racecourse.
Soldiers from the Yorkshire Regiment's 4th Battalion will also be on parade to receive medals following a six-month tour in Afghanistan last year.
During the actual John Smith's Cup race, Malton-based trainer Richard Fahey is hoping that he will be able to complete a unique hat-trick after supplying the winners of the last two years - Charlie Tokyo and Flying Clarets.
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