The feature race on day one of this year’s Dante Festival has been renamed in the wake of the controversy regarding royal family member Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

York racecourse introduced the newly named Go Local Minster Stakes to replace the original title of the Duke of York Stakes.

The 2026 Dante Festival, which kicks off the racing season in May, is set to attract record crowds this year with a total of £1.5 million in prize money available and three superstar live performances after each race day.

The former Prince lost his royal titles following revelations about his friendship with disgraced paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Andrew had his title of the Duke of York revoked towards the end of 2025.

King Charles made this decision following weeks of scrutiny over the former prince’s links to Epstein.

Independent MP for York Central, Rachael Maskell, has publicly welcomed the decision, adding people in the city had wanted the title to be dropped since his controversy came to light.

Ms Maskell told the BBC: “We called for that when these murky matters first came into light”.

The feature Group 2 sprint at the Dante Festival is backed by a new sponsor, Parfetts.

Parfetts is a leading player in the independent retail sector and will boost the record purse of the six-furlong contest to £180,000.

Head of marketing and sponsorship James Brennan said: “The mission of Parfetts is to drive success for their retail partners, which is a sentiment that York Racecourse would share, so we are delighted to welcome them.

“The increase in prize money demonstrates the ongoing commitment to use our commercial partnerships to increase the quality of the sport on the Knavesmire.

“Parfetts are bringing a number of their business partners to Wednesday 13 May, so we look forward to providing great entertainment both on and off the track for them and all our other racegoers.”

The Go Local Stores Minster Stakes will be the highest-class contest on the first day of the York season.