All you need ahead of the Sky Bet Go Racing in Yorkshire Summer Festival meetings at Thirsk and York

The Go Racing in Yorkshire Summer Festival goes up another notch heading into the weekend with the double-header of Thirsk and York on Friday.

The day comes to a resounding conclusion when Grammy Award-winning Jess Glynne plays live from the Knavesmire after York is over but the action on the track is not to be missed either, with Listed honours up for grabs in the British Stallion Studs EBF Lyric Fillies' Stakes (7.30).

That's the feature on a six-race evening programme at York, while there's a bumper eight-race card through the afternoon at Thirsk, all kicking off with the Sporting Life Pick 7 Starts Now EBF Novice Stakes at 1.20.

Here we have all the essential details including opening times, ticket prices, Sky Bet offers and horses to look out for.

Thirsk

Race times: 1.20 to 5.05 (eight races)

Admission prices: £6-£22 (under 18s free)

Gates open: 11.30

Sky Bet offers: Top Price Promise (on all favourites), Extra Place in 5.05 (four places instead of three, 1/5 odds). Check out all the latest odds and offers

Entertainment: Live music from Ezee Goin, bouncy castles and a play park, plus Festival Freddie will available for selfies and high fives

Where to drink: 

Theakston Woolpack Inn & Garden (on course)
As good a spot as you’ll find on a racecourse for a hand-drawn ale. Seats outside too and view of the parade ring. Tick, tick, tick

Crown & Anchor, Sowerby
Magnificent collection of real ales – and a dartboard so two of your five-a-day. Nice beer garden, super food – an all-round banker

Little 3
Wonderful pub – again spoilt for choice with real ale – many a top Yorkshire brewery is represented on the pumps. Good food and beer garden. Recommended

Where to eat:

Crab And Lobster
Not cheap – but one of the best restaurants in North Yorkshire with a strong seafood representation on a wonderful A-La-Carte menu. No better place to celebrate a great day at the races (but make sure you book!)

Dog & Gun
Again, book in advance, but there is genuinely nothing you won’t admire about this place. Great food, great beer and great value for money

Sporting Life Pick 7: There is £10,000 up for grabs on every day of the Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival with the free-to-play game

Tom O'Ryan Tipping Challenge: Get the latest standings and odds

Dark Horse: Forest Dragon 1.50 - British Stallion Studs EBF Fillies' Novice Stakes (Div 1)

Newmarket trainer Hugo Palmer rarely ventures north for nothing and his record at all the Yorkshire tracks is extremely good. Thirsk has been a happy hunting ground for him having enjoyed  six winners from 18 runners at a win strike-rate of 33% and Forest Dragon is his only runner on the card on Friday. The Teofilo filly failed to beat a rival home on her Newmarket debut but an awkward start didn't help matters and she's worth another go. It may be significant she was 6/1 first time out at HQ and returns to the track just seven days after that initial look. She could be a much bigger price on this occasion.

One to Watch: Juliet Capulet 2.20 - British Stallion Studs EBF Fillies' Novice Stakes (Div 2)

Divsion two of the same seven furlong maiden has also attracted a number of top-quality Newmarket yards and the one to focus on here looks to be John Gosden's runner Juliet Capulet. She's made significant strides since her Doncaster debut at the start of June and travelled supremely well for a long way on her latest outing at the July Festival before boxing on for third behind two promising Godolphin/Ballydoyle representatives who may have been favoured by racing more towards the centre of the track. Further improvement could be likely in the cheekpieces and a maiden success looks a formality before the daughter of Dark Angel has her sights raised.

Best bet: Admiral Rooke 2.55 - JW 4x4 Northallerton Nursery

It's not just Admiral Rooke's debut run in Rajasinghe's Newcastle maiden that has worked out well, with his latest Carlisle run throwing up a few subsequent winners too. Dropping back to the minimum trip for the first time in Cumbria didn't look ideal for the Rock Of Gibraltar gelding and it's no surprise to see him back up in distance for his handicap debut here. Michael Dods does especially well with these types and he strikes as a well-handicapped juvenile starting out off a workable mark of 68 with ease underfoot of no concern and Paul Mulrennan back in the saddle.

York

Race times: 6.00 to 8.30 (six races)

Admission prices: £10-£40

Gates open: 4.00

Sky Bet offers: Extra Place in 6.30 (four places instead of three, 1/5 odds). Check out all the latest odds and offers

Entertainment: Live music from Jess Glynne after racing

Where to drink:

Evil Eye
If you prefer a cocktail to an ale, head to Johnny Depp's favourite York haunt and ask for an Old Fashioned. Ten minutes later, you'll be in heaven but be warned: five or six later and you may wake up in hell

House Of The Trembling Madness
Honest. Belgian beers you'd struggle to find in Belgium are the feature of this terrific place in the centre of town. Ramp up the percentage if you've landed the Placepot

Where to eat: 

The Hole In The Wall
You'd be forgiven for strolling on past this one if looking for a spot of food, but if you like generous portions of quality pub fayre, you'd be wise to step inside

The Park
You probably won't get in now but one for the notebook comes courtesy of Adam Jackson's exquisite menu which is both a visual and taste-budial (any food critic jobs going?) treat

Sporting Life Pick 7: There is £10,000 up for grabs on every day of the Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival with the free-to-play game

Tom O'Ryan Tipping Challenge: Get the latest standings and odds 

Dark Horse: See The Sun 6.30 - Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Handicap

Tim Easterby's See The Sun would make mincemeat of this lot if able to recapture his very best form and while that requires a stretch of the imagination, he could certainly pop up again before the season's out. A dual winner on the Knavesmire already, including in the big three-year-old Charity Sprint three summers ago, he was sent off at just 6/1 for the Sky Bet Dash 12 months ago having won a couple of nice races earlier in the year, so it's not like we have to go back too far to find some promising evidence. He's looked badly out of sorts in four runs so far this term but has dropped 15lb in the weights as a result and there was just a hint of potential in his most recent outing when eighth of 18 in re-fitted cheekpieces over five furlongs here. Going back up to six is a plus, with the sheepskin retained, and he's too well treated to ignore at his favourite stomping ground.

One to Watch: Batten The Hatches 8.30 - Sky Bet Go-Racing-In-Yorkshire Summer Festival Handicap

Following sprint handicappers after being hit by an 8lb rise in the weights probably isn't the most sensible ploy long-term, but sometimes such a hike looks perfectly justified and this is one such example. Batten The Hatches has been promising to do what he did at Redcar last month ever since stepping foot on a racecourse and now he's finally got the hang of things he's a three-year-old to follow. It'll be interesting if the blinkers work again (worn first time latest) but his trainer David Barron is a past master with young speedsters and it's more than likely this gelded son of Harbour Watch will be contesting significantly stronger races than this by the end of the year.

Best bet: Entsar 7.30 - British Stallion Studs EBF Lyric Fillies' Stakes (Listed)

William Haggas makes no secret of the fact he loves saddling winners in the White Rose County and the Yorkshire-born trainer's Entsar makes considerable each-way appeal in the main race on the night. It's a pretty open-looking event of its type with several in with chances but plenty have questions to answer at present. The horse in question is probably also among them but as a lightly-raced four-year-old she does still have scope for further improvement, which isn't the case with some of her rivals, and returning to turf after a lacklustre run on the Tapeta at Newcastle should suit. Prior to that all-weather outing she'd made an encouraging start to the season when third to Wilamina in a Listed contest at Nottingham and she's worth excusing one bad run. Going back to last season she was a really impressive handicap winner off a mark of 84 at Newbury, form which entitles her to maximum respect, and some ease underfoot on the Knavesmire should be right up her street. Connections reach for cheekpieces in a bid to spark her back to form, something the yard has successfully utilised on several occasions this year, including with high-profile York winner Tasleet, and the booking of Paul Hanagan can only be a good thing.