YORK’s Ebor meeting has often been acknowledged as one of the best of the year and being there last week confirmed that opinion first hand.

Every top racecourse, especially at summer meetings, should try to provide the best viewing and information possible for those in attendance. From racetrack, to parade ring, to pre-parade ring, to communication with the public, you never felt you were missing out on anything at York.

And space and easy of movement were an extra bonus. Foot outlets and bars were many and all with ease of access.

The pre-parade ring can be neglected, but with some tiered steps there too, visibility was good. It’s often a much better place to see the horses before they are saddled. For those of the public interested, TurfTrax sectional data was posted on the side of the grandstand.

For the two feature races of the day, the stable lads for each horse were also included in the card under the jockey, which was a particularly nice element and must have taken a little time to compile.

If you’re not Mo – don’t go

RORY McIlroy back-tracked this week after a pre-Games lack of interest in participation in the golf at the Olympics. It might have been worth watching after all.

Although two of the biggest earning sports - tennis and golf - did have worthy and appreciative winners in Justin Rose and Andy Murray, the feeling after the Olympic was more towards keeping professional sports out of the Olympic arena.

Over all the weeks of competition, the most memorable moments came from the athletes who had strived for the last four years with an Olympic medal as their goal.

An Olympic medal will never mean a much to those elite because that was never the aim when a golfer or tennis player began in their sport.

You’ll not find a more moving interview of how deep the value of sport goes than with the British Taekwondo competitor Lutalo Muhammad who lost a gold medal in the last seconds of his contest.

Similiarly, diver Tom Daley’s was distraught at missing out on his final. “I can’t tell you how much those five rings meant to me.”

Mo Farah’s achievement of a double double was the ultimate achievement in his sport. Olympic gold was the sole aim from he first began to shows athletic talent.

The lesson should be simple - if you are not a Mo, don’t go.