It’s the goal of every racetrack in the world: get as many of the best runners to compete in your biggest race. In 2024, York Racecourse in North Yorkshire, England, carried out that goal to perfection.

Sporting a brand new purse of £1.25 million (about US$1.54 million)—the highest in the track’s history—and delivering a course-record performance by one of racing’s biggest stars to their fans and bettors, York tied a bow on the 2024 Juddmonte International Stakes (G1) Jan. 21 when it was named the Longines World’s Best Horse Race.

“It’s a huge honor and thrill to be named the Longines World’s Best Race,” said York’s chief executive, William Derby. “It’s a culmination of four decades worth of vision and investment and commitment by the track and Juddmonte to the race.”

The increased purse helped to attract an international cast, including France-based Calandagan , who shipped to Royal Ascot two months before the Juddmonte International and won the King Edward VII Stakes (G2), and Durezza, winner of the 2023 Japanese St. Leger (G1).

Under the expert ride of Ryan Moore, City of Troy took command from the start and never looked back, fending off the challenge of Calandagan to win by one length while lowering the 2,050-meter (just over 1 1/4 miles) course record with his time of 2:04.32.

“There was a great sense of anticipation about him coming for our flagship race,” Derby recalled about the Coolmore colt. “To win it in record time—from pillar to post—under world-leading rider Ryan Moore, it was a thrill for everyone there, and I hope people around the world saw it and appreciated it for the standout performance of the year.”

The performance earned City of Troy a 128 rating from the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings Committee. The award for the World’s Best Horse Race is determined by the ratings of the top four finishers. Calandagan was rated 125 at the end of the year while third-place Ghostwriter  received a 118.

The final boost came from fourth-place finisher Bluestocking , who immediately followed with two group 1 triumphs, including the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1). She was rated at 122. The Juddmonte International’s final ranking of 124.25 topped Saratoga Race Course‘s Travers Stakes (G1) by a half-point.

The Juddmonte International also won the award in 2020, and Derby hopes the continued recognition will continue to grow participation in the race. On Jan. 20, York, Goodwood Racecourse, and Ascot Racecourse announced the British Midsummer Bonus Incentives aimed at incentivizing owners and trainers to ship their horses to England to compete in the three tracks’ biggest summer races.

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“We’re working very hard—especially with our colleagues at Goodwood Racecourse and Ascot Racecourse—to link the Sussex Stakes, the King George, and the Juddmonte International together to facilitate horses from America, Japan, and Australia to come over and compete with the best in Europe and the big purses that are associated with that,” Derby said. “We very much hope that success will lead to success and more and more international horses will come to Britain in this period of July and August.”