Ebor Handicap

The event is named after the shortened form of Eboracum, the Roman name for York. It was first run in 1843, and it was originally known as the Great Ebor Handicap. The race was introduced by John Orton, a newly appointed Clerk of the Course at York. It was initially contested over , but its distance was later cut by 2 furlongs. The planned running of the Ebor Handicap in 2008 was abandoned because of a waterlogged track. It was replaced by an event at Newbury called the Newburgh Handicap, a reference to the town's original Norman name. The race is now held on the final day of York's four-day Ebor Festival meeting, and it is the most valuable flat handicap in Europe. The prize money was increased to £500,000 from the 2018 running and then to £1,000,000 from 2019, making it the first British handicap race worth £1,000,000. In connection with the prize money increase three-year-olds were excluded from the race from the 2019 running. The prize money for the 2020 running of the race was reduced, in line with similar reductions in prize money of all British horse racing, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic. ==Records==