Day two of York's Ebor Festival arrives on Thursday, and while the headline races will grab the spotlight, Sky Sports Racing pundit Kevin Blake believes the supporting card could hold the most rewarding betting opportunities.
According to York Racecourse's official fixture information, the Ebor Festival runs across four days from Wednesday 19 to Saturday 22 August 2026, with Thursday 20 August billed as Legends Global Yorkshire Oaks/Ladies Day, with the opening race set for 1:50pm. Gates open at 11:00 each day of the meeting, the course confirmed.
Blake's first selection targets the Sir Kevin Sinfield 7 In 7 Grand Finale Handicap at 3:00pm, a race he describes as another fiendishly difficult handicap to unravel. He thinks William Haggas could hold the key with Bullet Point.
The five-year-old landed this very race last year off a mark of 100, travelling smoothly from a favourable draw before winning with real conviction. Since then, though, his progress has stalled somewhat. A trip to Australia ended in disappointment, and he then spent six months on the sidelines.
Blake suspects that since his comeback, the team around Bullet Point may well have had this exact race circled as their target. He ran with quiet promise across two starts in valuable handicaps earlier in the campaign, then, after another 12-week break, put in a solid performance in defeat at the Shergar Cup, only beaten by a rival that had got loose in front. He returns off an identical mark of 101 this time, and although his draw is not quite as kind as it was 12 months ago, Blake still rates him among the leading contenders.
The second race to note is the Mews Hotel Ossett EBF Stallions Nursery at 4:45pm, where Blake is sticking with Hugo Palmer's Mia Fantasia. Three weeks ago, this column backed the colt in a valuable nursery at Glorious Goodwood, where his run was far better than the result suggested after he endured a properly troubled passage.
Blake maintains the argument in his favour still stands. Mia Fantasia shrugged off his inexperience to score impressively on debut at Carlisle, before finding things a touch too sharp in a strong novice event at Ascot that was subsequently won by Dr Rascal, who went on to land the Vintage Stakes. Off a mark of 79, Blake feels he is fairly treated and should have taken plenty from his Goodwood experience, putting him in line for a big run.
The final race under the microscope is the British EBF Fillies' Handicap at 5:20pm, yet another brutal puzzle where Blake admits a case could be made for numerous runners. He is opting to look towards the lower end of the weights, siding with Ed Walker's Secret History.
The three-year-old has already banked three wins this season, headlined by a valuable success over seven furlongs at Newmarket in July. Raised 4lb for that effort, her team took a gamble stepping her down to six furlongs in a lucrative fillies' handicap at Glorious Goodwood, where she ran on well to finish third, though Blake felt the shorter trip asked a sharper question than ideally suits her. Returning to the seven-furlong test should play to her strengths, and he rates her chance highly.
Thursday's broadcast and race schedule
Per ITV Racing's coverage plans, the broadcaster's live output on Thursday runs from 1:30pm to 4:30pm, taking in the day's marquee contests including the 3:35pm Yorkshire Oaks and the 4:10pm British EBF and Sir Henry Cecil Galtres Stakes. ITV confirmed the Yorkshire Oaks as Thursday's Group 1 centrepiece.
Paddy Power's published race schedule lists a seven-race card for day two, running from the 1:50pm Lowther Stakes through to the 5:20pm British EBF Fillies' Handicap that features in Blake's picks, while also flagging Thursday as the festival's Ladies Day.
Meanwhile, Racing TV's results service showed that Wednesday's opening-day action at York had already been completed by 19 August 2026, with Air Force One taking the 13:50 and Haffner winning the 14:25, setting the tone before Thursday's card gets under way.
What happens next
With Thursday's seven-race card scheduled to run from 1:50pm to the closing 5:20pm Fillies' Handicap, according to Paddy Power's schedule, attention will then turn to the remaining fixtures. York Racecourse confirmed the Ebor Festival continues with further days of action on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 August, rounding out the four-day meeting.
