TOP sprinters face off in the showpiece £100,000 Duke of York Stakes at York Racecourse today.

The Group 2 six furlong contest is the highlight as the May Festival kicks off 17 days of action on Knavesmire and York Racecourse chief executive William Derby says he is delighted with the declarations.

“The Duke of York Stakes looks like being a cracking renewal,” he said. “It always represents the first time the big sprinters take each other on and there a lot of really good horses from Yorkshire in the entry.”

Six fillies are set to go to post in the £65,000 Tattersalls Musidora Stakes with reputations on the line ahead of next month’s Classic Oaks at Epsom.

“In the Musidora, the top three fillies in the Epsom Oaks betting are taking each other on and that is wonderful from our point of view,” Derby added. “There are some very smart fillies and it will be interesting to see how they go on in the Oaks. We are looking forward to it. It has been a long time since we were last racing and it is nice to get under way.”