YORK Racecourse is preparing for its first Saturday of the racing season, with £250,000 in prize money, an ABBA tribute band and the FA Cup final on the agenda.
This Saturday (May 25), the racecourse will be hosting seven races followed by ABBA tribute act Mania.
The William Hill Brontë Cup will feature as part of a card worth more than £250,000.
Racegoers will be able to watch the FA Cup Final on a choice of two big screens, one on Stands Side and another in the Clocktower Enclosure.
Selected televisions in the stands will also broadcast the final of the Champions Cup between leading rugby union sides, Leinster and Toulouse.
The days flagship race, The William Hill Brontë Cup, will run at 3.20pm. The bookies are tipping Jack Channon's 'Gather Ye Rosebuds' as the preliminary favourite, with six further horses hard to separate in the odds.
The Royal Yorkshire Regiment's regimental band will be performing on the Edwardian Weighing Room Lawn.
The multi-million pound upgrade to the southern end of the course has already seen the opening of the Roberto Pavilion, with further phases intended to improve the experience of the Grandstand & Paddock racegoer.
The Roberto Pavilion bar first welcomed customers at last week's Dante Festival.
The curtain-raising event saw 21 races and more than £1.5 million in prize money won. More than 7,000 people were reported to be in attendance on just day one, as crowds got to see local horse trainers such as Richard Fahey, Mick Easterby and Karl Burke take home victories.
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York Racecourse said it will be offering a selection of Heineken beers such as Birra Moretti. They will join North Yorkshire brewed ales from the famous Theakston stable being served across the site including a specially created IPA, which will be featuring as a guest ale in the Dayjur Bar and in the Flying Frankie pub. It will cost £6.20 a pint.
The racecourse also said that Champagne will be priced at £43.
Racegoers aged under-18 are admitted free of charge, with advanced booked prices for a group of six starting at £30.
Admission for all areas will be available on the race day itself, with free car parking as well as a regular shuttle bus service from the train station.
The races will return in June after this weekend's offering, as Macmillan host its charity race day on June 14 and 15.
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