York Races: day one of Dante Festival at York Racecourse

The three day long opener to the racing season in York saw the 1895 Duke of York Clipper Stakes as the days flagship race - where Mill Stream came out on top, winning the £150,000 prize pot.

£485,000 in prize money has been won today (May 15), with the Tattersalls Musidora Stakes boasting the second largest pot of the Wednesday.

Sadly, it was confirmed by York Racecourse that the horse Hispanic died in the second race of the day - the Churchill Tyres Stakes.

The racecourse confirmed the passing in a post on X.

Our thoughts are with Mrs Elizabeth Cash, @MickApplebyUK and all connections of Hispanic after the sad loss of the horse in our second race.

— York Racecourse (@yorkracecourse) May 15, 2024

Day two's biggest race is the Dante Stakes at 3.45pm. Favourites Ancient Wisdom, Al Musmak and Caviar Heights have all been tipped to win the £180,000 prize pot.

The new Roberto Village Bar opened on day one (Image: Lindum Group)

The opening day also saw the opening of the Roberto Bar at York Racecourse.

The bar represented the first phase of a multi-million pound investment, which pledges to improve facilities to the Southern End of the award-winning racecourse. 

It is part of a wider project at York Racecourse, where Lindum’s York division will also be creating extra lawns, a large open air canopy structure, catering facilities, betting facilities, toilets and a new wrought iron gate that remembers Yorkshire owner-breeder, Reg Bond.

It is the seventh project Lindum has undertaken at York Racecourse in the last eight years following on from projects in the Northern End, Clocktower Enclosure, and machinery and equipment store in 2022. 

James Nellist, Lindum York Managing Director, said: "We are thrilled to be handing over, on time this significant upgrade to the Southern End of York Racecourse.

"The new facilities will make a significant difference to the Grandstand & Paddock experience for racegoers, adding some fantastic new food and drink offerings, as well as upgrading the welfare facilities.

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"We have been working at the Racecourse for almost a decade and have developed a strong relationship with them over that time.

"It has been fantastic to be back at the historic venue and to have been part of the continued investment in the visitor’s experience and further cement our connection to this local landmark."

Chief Executive and Clerk of the Course at York Racecourse, William Derby, said: "The start of every new season at York is exciting, with so much to look forward to, both on and off the track.

"It is typical of the team at Lindum York, that they have pushed on through the wet weather of winter to get the Roberto Building delivered on time for the Dante Festival. 

"I thank all the hardworking team at Lindum as well as all our talented build and design team for the most incredible transformation of this area of the racecourse, that will further improve the experience of racing at York for generations to come."

The rest of the festival promises calmer weather, with William Derby telling Racing TV he expects "a millimetre or two" of rain on each of the remaining two days. Mr Derby also added that the water has settled into the ground, leaving conditions that the jockeys and trainers are largely happy with.