EVENING racing could soon be included in the York Races calendar.

Chairman of York Race Committee Nicholas Wrigley has revealed that Knavesmire may host a night meeting one summer in the near future.

"We are thinking about evening racing at York," he said.

"It is a question of choosing the right time in the season to do it. We haven't applied for an evening fixture but it is something the committee are interested in and will consider."

Knavesmire last staged a night meeting in the 1970s but the earliest it could stage one now would be in 2007 as next year's fixtures are already in place.

York is the only one of Yorkshire's nine courses that currently does not host a night meeting.

This year 23 evening meetings were held in the county between May and August. Doncaster staged five meetings, Beverley (four), Ripon, Thirsk and Pontefract (three each), Wetherby and Catterick (two) and Redcar (one).

Next year the Yorkshire evening season starts at Catterick on May 9 with Beverley hosting Britain's final evening meeting on August 31.

Graham Orange, of the Go Racing in Yorkshire organisation, said: "Evening meetings are growing in popularity and attract good crowds. Ten to 20 years ago there were about half the number of evening meetings in Yorkshire as there are now."

Generally evening meetings start around 6pm to 6.30pm and finish around 9pm.

Wrigley succeeded Lord Halifax as chairman of the York Race Committee on July 1.

A full interview with him appears in the Sunday Raceday souvenir brochure which will be on sale at tomorrow's Evening Press Sunday Raceday on Knavesmire.

It costs £2 and includes the runners and riders racecard, money-saving offers, plus features on jockey Robert Winston, highlights of previous Sunday Racedays and a look back at Royal Ascot in pictures.

Updated: 09:41 Saturday, September 03, 2005