RACING memorabilia linked to York and Ryedale is going under the hammer in London next week.

Medals given to a famous Malton-trained horse, and historic tickets and passes to York Racecourse, are part of a fascinating collection of racing memorabilia that will be sold by auctioneers Dix Noonan Webb next Tuesday, December 13.

The collection includes silver and bronze passes for racecourses all over the country, among them centuries old metal passes given to the Lord Mayor of York and wealthy racing fans including the Earl of Carlisle - the then owner of Castle Howard.

Christopher Webb, head of the coins department at Dix Noonan Webb, said: “This is a unique collection containing museum-quality pieces.

“The collector has acquired tickets and passes that were once the personal property of men who shaped the story of horseracing. When you handle pieces that once belonged to Lord Derby and the Earl of Sefton you are literally touching history.”

The entire collection, which was built up in Yorkshire, is expected to fetch up to £38,000, and the passes come from an era when substantial sums of money were subscribed by the well-to-do for grandstands to be built. In return subscribers would receive a ticket or pass, often for lengthy periods and sometimes for life, entitling them to free admission.

The collection includes a York pass given to the Lord Mayor of York, a gilt-bronze pass for the Marquis of Rockingham in 1768, and one given to Earl Carlisle in 1755 and renewed in 1803.

The collection also includes a unique pair of medals from the modern era. The two silver-gilt medals were awarded to Alverton, trained by Peter Easterby near Malton, and the only horse ever to win both the Arkle Chase and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Alverton was the favourite to win the Grand National in 1979, just a month after the Gold Cup victory, but had to be put down after he fell at Becher’s Brook.