How do you top Royal Ascot at York? Simple, bring the world's oldest classic horse race to the city, as Steve Carroll reports.

WHILE the bulldozer cuts a new stand at Doncaster Racecourse, the St Leger classic has found a new home - at the track which can claim to specialise in one-offs.

With the five-day fare of Royal Ascot now beginning to fade, York Racecourse has found another way to create a new set of memories.

And if the advance bookings for the "Ladbrokes St Leger at York" are to be believed, the move northwards has been given the thumbs up by Leger regulars.

If it runs to form, York's hosting of this prestigious race will virtually be a once-in-alifetime experience - the last time Knavesmire saw a St Leger was 1945.

Legend has it that more than 200,000 punters turned up that day to cheer Chamossaire to victory and, while they're expecting the racecourse to be a little less crammed 61 years on, the 2006 renewal is still likely to be a sporting event to rival the very best the city has experienced in modern times.

So, while Doncaster undergoes its £55 million redevelopment, York will once again take centre stage. Following Ascot, It's a feeling the racecourse team are getting used to.

What can we expect? Well, for a start, the festival is half the size. Doncaster's four-day meeting has been crammed into just two - a decision taken by York Racecourse chief executive William Derby and his team. He's hoping the St Leger will turn out to be a real Derby winner.

"The decision was really based on the position of the ground," he said. "We wanted to make sure we could guarantee the very best racing surface.

"We learned a lot from Royal Ascot and dealing with an extended period of racing and the fields will be packed full of quality.

"As well as the St Leger, a Group One race, there will be six Group Two contests, a Group Three as well as a collection of Listed races."

Those in the know were talking about York as a St Leger venue from the moment The Queen left the Royal Box at Knavesmire, just over a year ago. In the event, it was last December before the worst-kept secret in racing was finally confirmed by the Mayor of Doncaster Martin Winter.

But it was a tough fight. Several high-profile and successful racecourses were in the frame and, ironically, a rejuvenated and redeveloped Royal Ascot was up with the favourites for a time.

Thankfully, the Yorkshire classic has remained in its rightful county.

"All the activity began after Royal Ascot. We submitted an application to Arena Leisure (which runs Doncaster Racecourse). We were hugely keen to take the meeting," Mr Derby said.

"We thought it would be a great meeting for Yorkshire and would keep the race in the county.

We knew from our experiences at Royal Ascot that a meeting can transfer really well to York.

"It is hugely exciting to be hosting the St Leger.

We feared this year might be an anticlimax compared with the excitement of 12 months ago.

The St Leger gives us real focus for this year."

Although York staged the royal meeting, that was their only involvement. Royal Ascot was an event run and organised by the Berkshire track.

The St Leger is different. If Royal Ascot was pageantry and high society, just transferred to the North, then the St Leger - which will be managed and run by York's staff - will give the racecourse the chance to stamp its own mark on one of the sport's oldest events, while retaining the best of its Yorkshire traditions.

It is pressure, but not a burden says Mr Derby.

"It is something we were keen to do - run the race as part of our programme. That view was shared by the Doncaster team. It just seemed to make sense from both side's perspectives.

"It will be a York day. It will be special. From an operational point of view, it's quite simple. We will have the same counter and race day staff. We have a big team at York and a large support staff."

Okay, it's a race meeting. But as any fashionista will tell you, a day out on Knavesmire is about much more than just the thoroughbreds.

The St Leger will be no different.

Friday, September 8, when the crowd will come under starter's orders for the first time, also doubles as St Leger Ladies' Day.

"It will be special and a spectacle.

I don't think it will have the pageantry of Royal Ascot. We won't get crowds of 50,000, but I think it will have a special feel and a Yorkshire flavour. This is the Yorkshire classic.

"The response we have had from regulars at Doncaster has been hugely positive. They are really getting behind it. A large number of people have already booked as have a number of York racegoers.

But the race committee has no illusions. "It will be one-off," Mr Derby said. "And it will return to Doncaster next year."

It's not only the racecourse which will see the benefits of such a prestigious meeting. Royal Ascot brought an estimated £25 million into the city's coffers as bars, restaurants and hotels all cashed in on a busy-five days.

This time around, hotel, bars and restaurants can still expect to benefit to the tune of at least £1 million and the citys tourism bosses are determined not to waste the opportunity.

Gillian Cruddas, chief executive of York Tourism Bureau, said calls and inquiries about the Leger had been flooding in to the organisation.

"The St Leger will have a knock on effect for all businesses in the city too which has to be good news for the York economy," she said.

"This event will provide us with another fantastic opportunity to showcase York to the travel trade, tour operators, media and of course to our visitors.

"It will attract visitors from across the North of England, the UK and some from overseas, many of whom may not have visited York before.

"It is prestigious occasions like these that give York credibility as a city that can host successful events on a large scale. And it's also a reminder to people that York has one of the best racecourses in the country."

Royal Ascot put York in the shop window, Mrs Cruddas believes, and the St Leger will only help to keep the momentum going.

"York Racecourse did the city proud during Royal Ascot week and will no doubt do the same at the St Leger, not forgetting of course that York hosts its own hugely successful race meetings throughout the year. Since Royal Ascot at York, however, interest in racing in the city has definitely increased and meetings this year have been more popular than ever."

So the stage is set for September 8 and 9 - and another chance to promote York, and Yorkshire, on the worldwide stage. At the racecourse, they're hoping it will be considered a "must attend" event by those who live in the county.

It won't be Royal Ascot all over again, neither will it be a Doncaster St Leger. What it is certain to be is another cracking day out down on Knavesmire.

The Press www.yorkpress.co.uk Wednesday, August 30, 2006 ST LEGER AT YORK 3 Mr Derby said: "We are proud of it. We were proud to have won it and it will be a fabulous racing festival. It will be great fun. I think people will enjoy it. It is something to hugely look forward to. It will celebrate the best of Yorkshire racing."

To book for the Ladbrokes St Leger, telephone York Racecourse on 01904 620911 or buy a ticket online at www.yorkracecourse.co.uk