RACING officials today assured York residents they would not be left out in the cold when tickets for Royal Ascot in the city finally go on sale.

Details are still to be finalised about how tickets will be allocate for the prestigious five-day meeting in summer 2005.

But officials from Ascot who run the Royal meeting have stressed to their York hosts they want to give as many racing fans as possible the chance to buy tickets.

York Racecourse spokesman James Brennan said: "Nothing definite has been decided yet."

But he added: "Ascot organisers have said they are aware of the excitement the meeting is creating here and they want to involve as many people as they can.

"Every year at Ascot a healthy number of tickets go on sale to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis.

"The intention all along is that local race-goers in the North will be able to participate."

Today's reassurances come in the wake of confirmation that York Racecourse will be able to hold a maximum of 50,000 punters daily during the high-profile festival.

As Ascot fever mounts, this means a quarter of a million people could flock to the Knavesmire over five days - shattering modern attendance records in the process.

Mr Brennan said decisions had still to be made about how this 50,000 daily total would be split between corporate, royal enclosure, paddock and grandstand guests as well as how many priority tickets will be available for Ascot and York's 1,800 members.

Details of new temporary facilities, which have helped York boost its existing capacity by 10,000, have yet to be finalised, he added.

"We hope the five days will be a sell-out, so that means that sadly some people will be disappointed."

With Ascot's average attendance about 60,000, some race-goers will be concerned that tickets could prove hard to secure at a smaller York venue.

But Mr Brennan added: "People may come on different days and some might not want to travel to York."

Tickets for York Royal Ascot may not go on sale before next January as officials at the Berkshire-based track focus on this year's event.

Updated: 08:24 Wednesday, March 03, 2004