The 2026 York Ebor Festival will see Ladies’ Day take place on Thursday, August 20, with the Yorkshire Oaks the flagship race of the day.

Races start from 22:50 AEST and run right through the Aussie night. A total of seven races are scheduled for the day, with the Yorkshire Oaks scheduled for 00:35 AEST (15.35 BST).

Quick Picks

Our pick: Kalpana to win

Value bet: Minnie Hauk each-way

Long shot: Each-Way on Johanna Walsh

Betting Preview

The Yorkshire Oaks is a highly anticipated Group 1 race, featuring many of the world’s elite fillies and mares. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 3 furlongs, and 188 yards, testing the stamina of the three and four-year-olds that are scheduled to run.

This year’s race will also see a five-year-old compete in Kalpana, who is one of the horses to keep an eye on Another is Minnie Hauk, who won the 2025 Yorkshire Oaks.

Ridden by Ryan Moore and trained by Aidan O’Brien she won by 3.5 lengths from Estrange, with Garden Of Eden in third.

The winner of the race will receive £340,260 (AUD$708,400), the same value as last year.

Elsewhere on Ladies’ Day, two other races are categorised as Class 1 meets, with the Lowther Stakes (22:50 AEST) and British EBF & Sir Henry Cecil Galtres Stakes (01:10 AEST) both to be held.

Betting Markets to Watch

Kalpana is one of the horses to watch as she has been made the favourite in the betting ring ahead of the 2026 Yorkshire Oaks.

The Andrew Balding-trained filly has the strongest recent form, having won the King George at Ascot over 1m4f, beating high-class opposition including Calandagan, and finished about 18 lengths ahead of Minnie Hauk.

She has proven top-class form at the Yorkshire Oaks distance, and York’s likely solid pace should suit her stamina and late strength.

But you might be interested to hear that 10 of the last 12 winners have been aged three, with Kalpana two years older.

Minnie Hauk might not in the best of form recently, as she has no wins in four starts and an eighth in the King George. However, that may have been an off-day, which is why she has value in the each-way.

A horse that may be going something under the radar in the early betting odds is Joseph O’Brien trained Johanna Walsh.

She is an upwardly mobile Irish Oaks-winning three-year-old filly and will benefit from the weight for age allowance she has been given, which could see her challenge the main two contenders.

Ralph Beckett-trained Tattycorum will also be an interesting outsider. Aged four, she has won both of her starts this season and could tempt each-way bettors.

If you’re looking for even more value, three-year-old Earth Shot finished ahead of Johanna Walsh in the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot in June on good to firm ground, the same conditions as is expected at York.

Our Prediction

Check the latest horse racing betting odds at Sportsbet.

Our horse racing predictions have Kalpana as the likely winner of the 2026 Yorkshire Oaks on Ladies’ Day. She is the in-form horse and is arguably racing in a contest that demands less than the recent King George win at Ascot.

Minnie Hauk is always worth value as she’s an excellent horse, but her recent 8th doesn’t make her an automatic favourite despite winning this race last year.