Ascot crowd of almost 25,000 Shergar Cup's biggest since 2018 as summer attendances continue to rise

Ascot supremo Nick Smith hailed a bumper Shergar Cup crowd and said it was another sign of the promising trend of rising attendances at many major fixtures at British courses this summer. A crowd of 24,701 was at Ascot on Saturday, the highest for the fixture since 2018.

Smith described the six-race card, in which jockeys ride for one of four teams, as "very popular" with racegoers while also generating considerable betting turnover because of the appeal of its competitive handicaps.

The crowd was up more than 8,000 on last year and follows York and Newbury recently recording their biggest attendances since the pandemic. Crowds were also up more than four per cent at Glorious Goodwood despite the poor weather at the meeting this month.