Right Royal occasion for St Leger Festival

Each day features some of the best-known contests in British racing with prize money in excess of 1.8 million up for grabs – an all-time high. Racing on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday begins at 2.05pm while the action on Friday starts at 1.35pm.

Prior to racing on Wednesday, the racecourse will be officially re-opened by HRH the Princess Royal, who will have a guided tour of the new facilities before opening the new Urban-i Stand.

There is record prize fund of 500,000 for the St Leger - Britain's final Classic of the season

The famous Group 1 contest over one mile, six furlongs and 132 yards for top-class three-year-olds, is sure to have runners trained in Ireland by Aidan O'Brien, who has won Doncaster's flagship race three times in the recent past, including the last time it was held at Doncaster two years ago when Scorpion was the winner.

Honolulu, trained by O'Brien, is the ante-post favourite, while Lucarno, the winner of the major trial for the big race, last month's Ladbrokes Great Voltigeur Stakes at York, will be fancied to provide trainer John Gosden with his second winner of the race, following the victory by Shantou in 1996.

The opening day, Wednesday, is Animal Health Trust Day, as HRH the Princess Royal is the president of the AHT.

Two-year-olds are in the spotlight with the first four races being for juveniles, including The Samsung 300,000 St Leger 2-Y-O Stakes over the extended six furlongs and the European Breeders' Fund Carrie Red Fillies' Nursery Handicap Stakes.

The Scarbrough Stakes is a listed race for sprinters over five furlongs, while companies sponsoring races in support of the AHT include Torne Valley Ltd, Broncroft and Unicorn Asset Management.

It is glamour all the way on Thursday – 'Frenchgate Ladies Day' – with superb prizes to be won in the 'best dressed lady' competition due to take place after the first race in the winners' enclosure.

Following the second race on the card, the winner of the competition will then go on to join the finalists from each of the Yorkshire racecourses to compete for the title of 'best dressed lady racegoer in Yorkshire' 2007.

The overall winner will receive an Audi car for a year, courtesy of Doncaster Audi, part of the Gilder Group.

On the track, the feature races are a couple of Group 2 races – The Goffs/DBS Park Hill Stakes (a 100,000 race over the St Leger distance for fillies and mares) and the Frenchgate First For Fashion May Hill Stakes (a contest over the straight mile for precocious two-year-old fillies). There is strong support from the Japan Racing Association Sceptre Stakes (a Listed race for fillies and mares), the Fountain Spa At Barrington House Nursery Handicap Stakes for juveniles, The crownhotel-bawtry.com Conditions Stakes and the Miller Homes Yorkshire Handicap Stakes.

Leading the way on Friday is a pair of Group 2 races, the GNER Doncaster Cup and the Polypipe Flying Childers Stakes.

Some of the best stayers in the business will line-up for he GNER Doncaster Cup over two and a quarter miles, while two-year-old sprinters will advertise their claims for big race success in he Polypipe Flying Childers Stakes.

The Ladbrokes Mallard Stakes is a handicap contest over the St Leger distance, while juveniles take part in the Inspirepac Nursery Handicap Stakes and sprinters face the starter in the Ultimate Packaging Handicap Stakes.