Sponsors show faith in Ebor festival

“It’s a great meeting, and very hard to win races here,” said Flat racing’s most popular jockey who treated yesterday’s huge crowd to a trademark flying dismount after he won the Sky Bet Strensall Stakes for an eighth time in a stellar career.

Speaking after Dubai Prince’s victory, Dettori added: “For a jockey, it is fantastic to win in front of such big crowds at the Ebor Festival. The crowd really gets behind it, the races are top draw and York has been blessed this year with Frankel, the best racehorse in the world.”

Welcome to Yorkshire has sponsored the four-day Ebor festival since 2010.

The new deal extends until the 2015 meeting, though no financial details have been released.

Chief executive Gary Verity said horse racing is worth £230m a year to Yorkshire’s economy, and it was important that the meeting continued to attract visitors from across Britain and even further afield – Ortensia, the brilliant winner of yesterday’s feature Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes, hails from Australia.

“We are delighted to be supporting this great festival of racing which plays a key role in boosting Yorkshire tourism and the county’s economy,” he added.

“Last year saw a record attendance of over 90,000 people and this year has been another huge success.”

Racecourse chief executive William Derby said: “Welcome to Yorkshire are the perfect partners as we share a passion for offering a showcase for the region and for making every visitor feel special.

“The support of sponsors has helped us stage the richest ever festival this year and that has been rewarded by attracting the best thoroughbreds.

“Wednesday really was a memorable day as Frankel enjoyed that famous Yorkshire welcome.”

Ebor preview: Section 2, 
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