GRANDSTAND tickets for the prestige day at next year's Royal Ascot at York sold out in just over three hours.

Tens of thousands of tickets for Gold Cup day on Thursday, June 16, next year, were snapped up when booking for the showpiece event opened yesterday morning.

Badges remain for the course enclosure on Gold Cup day, which is Ladies' Day.

Tickets also remain for both the Grandstand and the course enclosure on all other days.

A total of 50,000 people will be packed into York Racecourse from June 14 to 18, with tickets priced at £50 for the Grandstand and £18 for the course.

Details of a further area, the Rails Enclosure, will be announced in the coming weeks, while Royal Enclosure tickets will go on sale from January 4.

Meanwhile, as reported in the Evening Press earlier this year, punters have been reminded to book tickets and hospitality packages only from official sources at Ascot.

Updated: 10:24 Tuesday, October 05, 2004