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!

Worcestershire Rose and all things racing

The deadline for entering the Worcestershire Rose contest is fast approaching, you have until Monday 5th March to enter. We have also had an exciting announcement this week - the winner will receive in excess of £1,000 worth of prizes including cut, style and hair colour at Umberto Giannini, Worcester for a year! If you are a lady aged 17 - 40 and would like to be chosen as the 2012 'Worcestershire Rose' at the opening racing fixture of the new season on Sunday 13th May, enter the competition. Follow the link (Click Here) 

We are delighted to have secured sponsorship for our flagship race meeting. Ladies Day on Saturday 9th June will be sponsored by Worcestershire Life.  We look forward to promoting the magazine at the Racecourse and to seeing our adverts featured in its pages starting in the April edition.

Subscribe to our regular e-newsletter to keep up to date with all the many things going on at the Racecourse this year, and don't forget to enter the competition at the end of each letter to win a selection of great prizes.  Send your e-mail address to info@worcester-racecourse.co.uk by 27th February to receive the latest e-newsletter and enter the competition to win a Worcester Annual badge worth £175.

Worcestershire Rose entrants

Amy birch

Emilie Williams

Jessica Lloyd

Naomi King

The Countdown To Racing Has Begun

Even though racing will not begin at Worcester for another 3 months, we have been extremely busy at the racecourse! We are busy preparing the site so that 2012 will be the biggest year yet.

Exciting news has been announced in the week - the Queen is to visit Worcester on Wednesday 11th July as part of her Diamond Jubilee tour of the country, which co-incides with the ever popular Irish Night race evening at Pitchcroft. Pop along to the racecourse for this ever popular evening! Gates are open from 4pm.

Tickets are now on sale for all 17 racedates of 2012 including the unmissable Festival of Racing weekend, with Ladies Day on Saturday 9th June and Countryside Family Day on Sunday 10th June. Click Here for further information.

Have you considered sponsoring a race as a birthday or anniversary celebration?  Prices start from £300 + vat per race and include naming the race - (name to be printed in most newspapers), a page in the racecard, race to be shown live on attheraces TV, paddock visit, champagne in the Director's Box, trophy presentation with photos and 6 complimentary entrance tickets worth £96!  Call the Racecourse office on 01905 25364 or Click Here to visit the website for further details.

We hope you have a great week, our 2012 brochure is available to download now!

We Want Racing!

January has finally left us, but it seems the winter weather is about to rear its ugly head. As long as the track is ready for May, we don't really mind!

Will Kauto Star turn the tables on 2011 Gold Cup winner, Long Run, as he has done twice already this season?  Or will the young pretender, Grands Crus be first up the Cheltenham hill  on March 16th and fly the flag for the David Pipe stable?  Whatever the result, be sure to come to Worcester Racecourse to watch all of the action. Avoid the expense and crowds at Cheltenham, join us for our Gold Cup Race Day on Friday 16th March 2012. Watch all 7 races on the big screens and enjoy a delicious two course lunch. Betting a and full bar are available on the day . Tickets are just £35. Its sure to be a fantastic atmosphere at this not-to-be-missed event.’ To book tickets Click Here or call 01905 763963.

In other news, Stanworth Fun Fair comes to Worcester Racecourse in March – it will be open daily on Pitchcroft from 15th – 24th March. Pop along for all the fun of the fair!

And finally,  the search is on for entries to the Worcestershire Rose contest – closing date 5th March, so don’t leave it too late.  Ladies aged 17- 40 should apply directly to Worcester News Click Here for further information. – Ten ladies with the most public votes will make it through to the final of the contest at the opening fixture of the new Worcester Racecourse season on Sunday 13th May.  The winner, who will become the face of Worcestershire will receive hundreds of pounds worth of prizes, as well as the title Worcestershire Rose 2012.

Great News - The 2012 Annual Badge now available to purchase! The badge includes entry to all 17 fixtures at Worcester, cup of tea/coffee and a muffin at all of our fixtures, free entry plus a guest to all Hall Green Greyhound fixtures (Except Boxing Day) and finally half price entry to County Championship matches at Worcester County Cricket ground. Phew, what an offer!

We will be launching the search for the first ever Worcestershire Rose in February via our media partner, Worcester News – look out for details in the paper and on our website.  The final to find the 2012 Worcestershire Rose will take place during the opening racing fixture of the 2012 season on Sunday 13th May. Watch this space for further information.

We haven't even started racing yet and tickets for this years Ladies Day hospitality– 9th June – are flying out.  Boxes are now completely sold out, and we have limited restaurant tables available, so book early to avoid disappointment as this will also sell out.

Thinking of organising an outing with your friends or work colleagues in 2012? – look no further than the Worcester Racecourse County Party Pack!  For groups of 8 or more, costing £18 per person (available for all fixtures except Ladies Day when there is a £12 Centre Course Party Pack) includes County Entrance, 2 drinks to the value of £2.50 each, racecard, discounted bet and parking.

Have a great week!