6 weeks till racing!

With just over 6 weeks to go until racing begins at Worcester Racecourse, the office is getting much busier with ticket sales and phone calls! 

It has just been confirmed that Jenny Pitman will be the guest of honour for the Wednesday Club Independence Day networking and social event in the racecourse marquee on the 4th July. Open for bookings to all, the fantastic value hospitality package at just £35 includes county entrance, refreshments on arrival, a two course lunch, racecards and a tipster talk. Click here for more details. 

We are also delighted to announce that the The Roving Crows have been booked to play for two nights at Worcester Racecourse! The band, which have a great local following, have been booked to liven up Irish race night on Wednesday 11th July and also The Pershore Plum Festival Family race night Tues 31st July. Formed in early 2009, the Roving Crows’ inexhaustible energy gives them a stand-alone status in the up-surging live music scene, boasting fiery fiddle playing, trumpet, guitar, drums, bass and vocals. If you would like to see more from the band, Click Here to go to their website.

Armed Forces Heroes – 27th June

There has been great excitement at the racecourse this week as it has been announced that more than 250 members of the Grenadier Guards and The Queen’s Royal Hussars (including marching bands) will parade through the city centre on Wednesday 27th June, ahead of the national Armed Forces Day on 30th June.  This will followed by an afternoon of racing at Pitchcroft with FREE entry to EVERYONE in the Centre Course enclosure (complimentary tickets can be obtained at the turnstiles on the day).  In addition to seven national hunt races, attractions at the Racecourse will include fundraising and a charity race for Help For Heroes, war horses and military vehicle displays, army recruiting stand and military music.  A race day not to be missed!

Well done!

WELL DONE, THE GIANT BOLSTER! - The team at Worcester would like to congratulate Simon Hunt, proud owner of the The Giant Bolster who ran his heart out to easily a career best, coming in a close second behind Synchronised in Friday’s Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup, at odds of 50/1!  The Giant Bolster went one better at Worcester in 2010, winning one of our season feature races, the Fred Rimell Memorial Chase.  We look forward to watching his progress from here.

Worcester Winners at Cheltenham

Another Cheltenham Festival raceday and another former Worcester winner strikes gold again, this time in the St Patrick’s Derby! Pascha Bere, trained by Nick Gifford, won a handicap hurdle at Worcester in May 2010. Ridden to victory yesterday by Gifford’s International Three Day Eventing sister, Tina Cook, Pascha Bere came from the back of the field to win by over a length. 2nd place went to Wild Desert, ridden by Lindsey Hunting, who is a Worcester Royal Hospital staff nurse and fiancé to Gold Cup winning jockey Paddy Brennan.   

All eyes are on Cheltenham this week!

Further reasons to visit Worcester Races this summer have been very evident on the first two days of the Cheltenham Festival this week. The Nicky Henderson trained Owen Glendower who won his novice hurdle at Worcester in 2010 gave each way backers a real treat on Tuesday, coming in third at 33/1. Yesterday, Donald McCain’s Son of Flicka, who won the handicap hurdle at Worcester’s 2010 Ladies Day came up trumps in the Coral Cup, trouncing the opposition to win at 16/1!  We can’t wait to watch more pointers to future Cheltenham Festival successes running at Worcester this year.
The St Richard’s Hospice Gold Cup lunch at Worcester Racecourse tomorrow has proved very popular and promises to be a thrilling event. The next big fund raiser for the Hospice at the Racecourse will be the Worcestershire Life Ladies Day on Saturday 9th June when you will be able to support the Hospice throughout the afternoon.  Entrance tickets are selling fast and early booking for this most popular of events is highly recommended. Click here to book now!

Enjoy the final two days of the Cheltenham Festival!

One week closer to racing!

The contest to find the face of Worcestershire for the coming year has been given a great boost this week by a flood of last minute entries! The closing deadline for entries was extended to Monday 12th March, so you have a little bit longer to get your entries in. The next stage is the public voting stage, where you get the chance to vote for our final ten ladies. At our race fixture on Sunday 13th May, the final contestants will be whittled down by a group of local celebrities, and then our new Worcestershire Rose 2012 will be announced. Click here to follow the link for further information.

This week the racecourse supported the St Richard’s Hospice preview dinner at the Dormy House by donating a pair of 2012 Worcester annual badges for the auction. Jockey Willy Twiston-Davies obviously recognised the huge value for money offered in the package as he outbid the opposition to reap the all of the benefits that an annual badge affords! If your a regular visitor to the racecourse, the annual badge is the perfect ticket option for you. Click here to find out what the 2012 Annual Badge includes.

With the season of Summer Weddings fast approaching, the racecourse is getting booked up quickly by loved up couples who will be looking forward to a memorable day! If you are interested in a wedding at the racecourse, why not look at our new Wedding Reception brochure which is now available to download. It gives full details of the personal attention to detail and the mouth watering menus you can expect from booking your reception with us.  To find out more about our fantastic Wedding Packages, Click here. 

We are counting down the days till our first fixture of the year on Sunday 13th May. It will be a great day for the whole family, don't forget that that its free admission for under 18's!

We look forward to seeing you then!

Events at the racecourse

All of the team at the racecourse are eagerly awaiting the Cheltenham Festival in a fortnight's time. Lets hope abit of local success will get the newspapers flocking to Worcester for our racing. It would be great to see a Worcestershire trained winner put the county on the map and currently, hopes rest with the most likely trainers to have runners which are Ian Williams, Richard Newland and Tony Caroll.  We are all keeping our fingers crossed!

Linking to the festival, St Richard's Hospice will host their charity Cheltenham Gold Cup lunch at the racecourse on Friday 16th March - places are still available but are selling fast!  Click Here for more information. Join us for a great day's racing with no queues for the bar or the loos, and no worries about getting away from the Racecourse afterwards!

As previously mentioned, Wyvern FM have had a fantastic response to the recent launch of the Walk of Worcestershire on Sunday 1st July. The walk will start at the Three Counties Show ground and finish at Worcester Racecouse. With around 800 entries so far, this walk will be a fantastic day out for the whole family!   For more information and to see details on how to sign up, Click Here.

Have a great week!