York Racecourse has been named among the UK racecourses attracting the biggest race day crowds – do you visit often?

It comes as racing experts at OLBG have revealed the UK racecourses with the biggest attendance over the past decade, those with the highest attendance per event, the racecourses increasing and decreasing in popularity the most, the racecourses with the highest number of annual searches and whether racegoers prefer flat or jump racing.

Overall, Cheltenham was named the UK racecourse attracting the biggest crowds per race day.

On average, more than 27,000 people attend race days at Cheltenham, which is over 7,000 visitors more than at Ascot in second place.

When looking at the number of racegoers visiting Cheltenham every month, the figure exceeds 36,200.

But how did York Racecourse rank? Let’s take a look.

What did the racing experts say about York Racecourse?

York Racecourse’s 10-year attendance totals to 2.83 million, according to the data from OLBG.

It was also found to have an average attendance per year of 329,596.

The racing experts shared: “York is the third most attended racecourse in the past ten years, averaging just under 330,000 annually and almost 3 million over the decade.

“Unlike the two more popular racecourses, York only hosts flat races, making it the most visited flat racing racecourse.”

On Tripadvisor, visitors have praised York Racecourse as “one of the best”.

Did you see Zain Blue (second left) ridden by jockey David Egan at York Racecourse in September?Did you see Zain Blue (second left) ridden by jockey David Egan at York Racecourse in September? (Image: Mike Egerton/PA)This review reads: “One of the best Racecourses we have been to where our horse has run, they really look after the owners and the whole course has a great feel."

Another posted: “Excellent day at the races. I have been to quite a few racecourses but York was the best organised so far. Excellent friendly staff and facilities. Great viewing areas and and relatively inexpensive tickets. Would definitely recommend.”

Steve Madgwick, editor-in-Chief at OLBG, commented on the Racing Attendance Report: “The racing industry has faced many battles in the past decade to get attendees through the gates in the UK, and like many other sports, the Covid-19 Pandemic provided even more difficult circumstances to contend with in 2020 and 2021.

“The team at OLBG are proud to be involved in the UK racing trade, and as part of our latest Racing Attendance Report, we wanted to compare and contrast attendance figures over the past 10 years per racecourse, seasonally, and per race type.”

@yorkraces What was your 2024? We look forward to being part of your 2025! 🤩 #yorkraces #horseracing #summerplans ♬ hard times - mette

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He added: “Ascot ranks as the most visited racecourse over the past decade with just under 600,000 race visitors each year, and with Royal Ascot registering as one of the most esteemed events in the racing calendar, interest in this racecourse comes as no surprise; 94,100 Google searches were made relating to Ascot between September 2023 and August 2024.

“The numbers of attendees at major UK racecourses always see a major boost due to headline festival events, but it is paramount we highlight some of the courses that people are becoming more aware of and interested in visiting.

“Musselburgh is one of those, and over the past three years, search numbers for the racecourse have increased by more than 3,000%.”