YORK Racecourse breaks new ground today as their most famous race – the Betfred Ebor Handicap – is staged on a Saturday for the first time.

William Derby, York’s chief executive and clerk of the course, said the move had been three-and-a-half years in the planning and he was “really happy” with the new race programme.

The Ebor, first run in 1843, now forms the climax of the four-day Welcome To Yorkshire Ebor Festival, having shifted from its traditional Wednesday spot.

Derby said the portents for the change were good and added he would be interested to experience the raceday atmosphere as Knavesmire welcomed in a new era for its most famous race.

“It’s new ground and like any new ground we are not quite sure (how it will go),” he said. “The portents are good in that we’ve got some very good entries and runners.

“We are really happy with the race programme today. We’ve introduced a new race, a very rich nursery handicap over a mile – one of the first of those of the season.

“In terms of the atmosphere it will be interesting. It was noticeable on Wednesday that it was very much an Ebor atmosphere. We are also not quite sure how we will end up in terms of the crowd.”

The Ebor switch became possible after York came to a fixture agreement with neighbours Ripon and following consultation with the British Horseracing Authority.

Derby added a review would be carried out, after this year’s renewal, to see what could be learned from the inaugural Ebor Saturday.

“It has been a long time in the planning,” he added. “As with any big change in tradition it was a big structural change. It’s been a long time trying to get it the way we wanted it.

“Today will be the fruition of three-and-a-half years of hard planning. It will take time to grow and establish, just as other Saturdays have, so we will be as interested as anyone (to see how it goes). We will carry out a review in the autumn.

“It’s our most famous race. It’s a race we are hugely proud of. It’s a proper handicap you can get stuck into and we want to grow it.”