Three thousand pilgrims arrive for Sunday worship in racing hotbed

It's an optimistic man who queues for a bus on a Sunday morning in rural North Yorkshire. But this is not an ordinary Sunday morning.

You can tell that by the smiles of anticipation on the faces of eager throngs of men, women and children – with the occasional ballet-skirted young girl putting a brave face on the fact that the shiny wristband she's been given isn't pink.

The wristbands are the key. They gain the wearers access to buses that will take them on a magical mystery tour around Malton and beyond, an area with a racing history dating back to at least the 17th century and still a key training centre.