The dust-up to end all dust-ups that brought 150,000 to the Knavesmire - with not a public hanging in sight

Through 2025, the Racing Post will be telling the history of racing through the stories of the 20 most significant races ever run

Parts one and two:

• The day racing changed forever: how the 1780 Derby sparked a 250-year turf revolution 
• The Grand National didn't start in 1839 - this is the true story of racing's greatest race 

In the middle of the 18th century, if you wanted to attract a massive crowd to the Knavesmire, all you had to do was hold a public execution. The prospect of a good death on the gallows had the denizens of York thronging in their tens of thousands, and it wasn't unheard of for bookies on the racecourse next door to shout odds on how long it would take the poor victims to perish on the end of the noose – in the days when a brisk and humane dispatch for the accused was the last thing anybody wanted.