Crowds were "buzzing" as the York Dante Festival 2022 got underway.

The racing kicked off this afternoon (Wednesday, May 11) at York Racecourse with the Sky Bet Race To The Ebor Jorvik Handicap which saw Gaassee take the win.

James Brennan, spokesperson for York Racecourse, said: “We are delighted to be back.

“The latest spell of rain has blown over now. The crowd is buzzing!

“Everyone is enjoying it.

“Lots of people have been eating the pies from the new 1731 Pie Shop.

“We look forward to doing it all again tomorrow.”

York Press:

The second race of the day was the Churchill Tyres Handicap where Dakota Gold topped the podium. 

This was Dakota Gold’s sixth win at York, making the horse the joint record holder with Copper Knight.

The last race of the day is at 5.20pm, with the Dante Festival returning tomorrow (Thursday, May 12).

York Press:

Friday (May 13) will be the closing day of the 2022 festival.