The Week At Worcester

It’s a busy week at the Racecourse with five days of conferencing in the Grandstand and the Stanworth Fun Fair who have moved into the centre of the course.  The fair will be open to the public from today until the 17th March, so if you are in Worcester, do come down and enjoy the fun!

Preparations for the new racing season are also in full swing. The track has been rolled and slit to allow airflow under the surface, and also harrowed to lift any dead grass. The turf is currently enjoying the light rain prior to being fertilised.  With just a few days to go to the start of the Cheltenham Festival, we will be keen to watch those horses who enjoyed success at Worcester last season take their chance at National Hunt’s pinnacle meeting.  For everyone who enjoys visiting Cheltenham next week, or indeed watches the action on the television, don’t forget to book your tickets for Worcester this summer.  There are 21 fixtures to choose from, starting with the evening meeting on Tuesday 30th April.

Racing countdown is on...

There has been a certain buzz about the racecourse at Worcester this week because at last, the current dry spell is allowing the ground to dry! This has allowed the Estates team  to make good headway with their preparations for the new season, just over 8 weeks away. The new advertising hoarding frame on the home straight leading up to the winning post is being constructed, interest is growing in these prominent annual 20ft x 4ft sites, guaranteed to be seen by tens of thousands of people through the year!

There is a special half price race sponsorship offer available for the first meeting of the season on Tuesday evening, 30th April. This combined with a discounted restaurant package for 4 people would make a great evening out for any family or business occasion. There are only a limited number of races left to sponsor on this date, it is advisable to contact Jenny Cheshire in the racecourse office on 01905 – 25364 without delay for further details.

See you on the 30th April!

Annual Members Rewards

This weekend, Worcester Racecourse Annual Members will be meeting up for the first ever stable visit arranged by the course. The Members will visit Graeme McPherson’s yard at Stowe on the Wold to enjoy a morning on the gallops and tour of the yard. Everyone is really looking forward to the event which it is hoped, will be the first stable visit of many in the future.

Top lady point to point rider who has recently taken out a licence to train under rules, Alexandra Dunn from Himbleton near Worcester, trained her first winner at Taunton on Thursday. Arrayan won the opening claiming hurdle, having benefited from a recent prep run at the Jumper’s Bumper meeting at Wolverhampton. Congratulations to Alexandra.

Blog Update-Peppa Pig and more

We are delighted that the Worcester News will be supporting our first Family Fun Day this summer, on Sunday 12th May, when Peppa Pig will be making personal appearances at various intervals throughout the afternoon. Accompanied children under 18 go FREE at Worcester Racecourse and the Worcester News will be offering a discount for adults too, ensuring an even better value day out for all the family. Look out for the ‘two for one’ adult entry vouchers for the County Enclosure in the Worcester News in April and May – a saving of £16!

Worcestershire trainers are making the most of the jumps calendar currently back on track. Tony Carroll, who trains at Cropthorne had a 1-2 at Towcester on Thursday. Claines trainer, Richard Newland was on the mark again in Sandown’s £25K Veteran’s Handicap Chase on Saturday with Dashing George, who made all to put his poor performance at Leicester 3 days earlier, firmly behind him. A winner at Worcester in October, Giveitachance trained by Claire Dyson from Bromsgrove won Doncaster’s 3m handicap hurdle yesterday under regular rider, Nick Schofield, with the stable’s Burnthill behind in third place.

Ladies Day preparation underway!

We are very excited to be working closely with our new Ladies’ Day sponsors, CrownGate Shopping Centre towards what promises to be the most successful ever Ladies’ day on Saturday 1st June! The joint venture between ourselves and Worcester’s premier high street shopping centre will bring a whole fresh feel to the occasion with new ideas ensuring racegoers experience an even more enjoyable day out this year. With tickets already selling fast – don’t leave it too late to book yours! The Take That Experience will play live on stage in the centre of the course following the final race of the day.

They say ‘all roads lead to Cheltenham’ through the winter National Hunt season and the prestigious four day festival is just around the corner now. If Gold Cup day on Friday 15th March is your thing but you would prefer to avoid the crowds and the traffic queues, keep warm, eat, drink and relax but still ‘go racing’ in comfort, why not join us at Worcester Racecourse for the The Cheltenham Gold Cup Lunch being organised by St Richard’s Hospice. Individual tickets or tables of 10 are available at just £35pp. Contact Rachel Jones on 01905 – 763963, or e-mail : rjones@strichards.org.uk for more details. 

In other news, Dr Richard Newland from Claines had success at Ludlow yesterday with 4 year old Angelot Du Berlais in the opening race, the Bull Ring Juvenile Hurdle over 2 miles. A 12 race flat maiden in France, he followed up a recent Sandown hurdle run with a much improved performance yesterday and will no doubt come on further for the run.

Snap up tickets to win a sporty KIA

Now’s your chance to snap up tickets to win a KIA Sportage for just £1, in the St Richard’s Hospice annual raffle.

Ticket sales from the raffle to win the car will help raise funds for St Richard’s care of patients and their families living with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.

Tickets can be purchased at £1 each from St Richard’s Hospice shops in the county, from St Richard’s in Wildwood Drive, Worcester and at a variety of venues in the coming months or by telephoning the Fundraising Department on 01905 763963.

The raffle is kindly supported by Edwards Motors, Kempsey, Worcester; sponsored by Halls Estate Agents, Worcester; Worcester Racecourse and the Bank House Hotel and Golf Club, Bransford. The raffle will be drawn on 27th March.

St Richard’s Community Fundraiser Lizzie Brazier said, “This is a great way to support the hospice and also be in with a chance to win a fantastic prize! It’s a great stocking filler too, so go out and buy your tickets now!”

St Richard’s Hospice provides free specialist palliative care for patients living with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses and supports their families. Each year the hospice team supports over 2,300 patients and family members in Worcestershire.

Patients are cared for in Day Hospice, the 16-bed In-patient Unit or in their own homes by a specialist professional team as well as many trained volunteers.

In the In-patient Unit specialist staff are on hand 24 hours a day to manage patients’ symptoms and where, if they so choose, patients may spend the last few days of life in comfort and dignity. St Richard’s is grateful for all donations towards the £6.1m required each year to continue their work.

Over the next five years the hospice plans to develop patient services to meet the specialist palliative and end of life care needs within the community including, expanding Hospice at Home services.

The racecourse are recruiting!

Worcester Racecourse is one of 15 Racecourses operated by Arena Racing Company and 2013 is going to be a very exciting year for us. Our fixture list has increased and we are set to stage 21 National Hunt Race days. On top of this, throughout the year we host a variety of non racing events which continue to become more popular.

Here at Worcester, we are all fired up and raring to go. We want to make 2013 a year to remember. Do you think you have what it takes to help us get there? We are looking to recruit an inspiring New Business Sales Executive to join the team on a fixed term contract for 2013. Full vacancy details can be found on our website at http://www.worcester-racecourse.co.uk/recruitment.html, alternatively call Lyndsey Denning on 07584 683083.

Closing Date 4th January 2013.