It was the brainchild of the then Chairman of Go Racing In Yorkshire, Simon Channon, who noticed that there was a week when all of Yorkshire’s flat courses raced.  He decided this was the perfect opportunity to showcase the variety of courses and types of racing in Yorkshire and hence the Summer Festival was born.

Add to that a loyal, Yorkshire based sponsor in Sky Bet, who have supported the concept from day one and the formula still works.

That’s not to say that things haven’t changed over the years.  There was a point, when Wetherby started to hold flat racing, that they also had a meeting during the week, however changes to the racing calendar mean that is sadly no longer the case.

We know that there is something special about racing in Yorkshire and the festival week epitomises this.  Our knowledgeable and enthusiastic racegoers are also incredibly welcoming and newcomers to the county will go home with lifelong friends after taking in up to 10 race meetings over nine days.

So what can you expect from the Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival?  The simple answer is everything!  On the racing front, there is racing of all grades, from competitive class 5 and 6 races, culminating with the Group 2 Sky Bet York stakes on the final day.  And while there might not be any jump racing, that won’t stop you from seeing the big names of jump racing in action during the Sky Bet Jump Jockeys Nunthorpe – an opportunity for those who tend to compete over a minimum distance of two miles to have a go at a five-furlong dash.

Throughout the week, racegoers will get to see horses of all types, familiar names on the local circuit, where the Yorkshire tracks provide the bread and butter of the sport.  Some of these are course specialists, like Dandy’s Angel, a Beverley expert, or Copper Knight, the winning most horse at York, both of whom have built up a loyal following for their exploits at their favourite tracks.  There’s also some big names, both locally and travelling from further afield.

On the entertainment front there’s music!  The Summer Festival opens at Pontefract with a beer festival and a popular covers band after racing.  This year it’s Definitely Mightbe, offering their interpretation of Oasis hits.  Rewind, featuring 80’s explosion is the order of the day at Doncaster and the final two days of the festival at York will see both The Kaiser Chiefs and S Club getting into the groove on the Knavesmire.

As it’s the first week of the Summer holidays across the county, there will be a lot of activities for children.  Racing is a great value day out anyway, given that under 18’s race FREE, but during the Summer Festival week, the fun kicks off at Redcar with their Circus Family Fun Day.  Catterick and Thirsk will also be focusing on the family audience.

Wherever you are, Festival Freddie is always a big hit, with young and old alike.  He spends the afternoon walking around the enclosures to make sure that everyone is having a good time.  It’s always worth giving Freddie a pat, especially if he’s got his big yellow bucket with him as into only is it useful to give him a drink on a hot day, it’s usually filled with sweets, so he needs to empty it first!

While racing is about the equine stars, we like to get to know the human ones too and have found the best way to do this is during a kick about…… “Paddock and Chips” takes place in the Parade Ring about an hour before the first race and the jockeys come out to score points by chipping a ball into a goal.  The competition runs throughout the week and as you can imagine between professional sports people, they take it very seriously and head out early for a practice.  Is it fluke or skill and ability that wins the prizes?  Well, if truth be told, it’s usually a bit of both, but it is fairly obvious who has gone home to practice between Pontefract on Friday night and Ripon on Saturday afternoon!

Talking of competition, there’s a leading trainer and jockey of the week prize.  The trainer who has the most winners wins an overnight stay at Goldsborough Hall, near Knaresborough, home of founding stallion, The Byerley Turk, while the leading jockey with the most winners throughout the week wins a cash prize from Sky Bet.  Getting off to a good start at the beginning of the week can often be key to securing these titles.  Last year’s winners were Richard Fahey, who took the trainers’ title and stable jockey Oisin Orr took the jockeys’ equivalent for the first time.

The Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival looks to acknowledge all participants in the industry and there’s a cash prize to share between the stable staff, as well as a pizza party for the yard that wins the most best turned out awards in the Sky Bet sponsored races throughout the week.  There is a very high standard of turnout across the Yorkshire yards and the attention to detail is evident.  It’s not unusual to identify a new quarter mark pattern during the week, or cleverly, one which displays the sponsor’s logo.  This competition is one of the toughest to judge, often going nail bitingly close to the wire!

It’s not just about the winners either.  With a Sky Bet sponsored moment of the day award, which really could go to anyone for anything that stands out to the sponsor on the day.  This culminates in a moment of the week, presented at York and is a way of considering everything that happens on a raceday.  It certainly keeps the judges on their toes!

Charity is a big part of the festival week and in the past we have worked with some great charities who use the opportunity to fundraise for their cause.  It also provides a platform for them to engage with racegoers and with on average 80,000 racegoers during the week that’s a lot of conversations to be had!  Exit collections and competitions help to bolster the funds.  In the past we have worked with the Injured Jockeys Fund’s Jack Berry House, New Beginnings Racechorses, Racing Welfare and Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

It’s not just an event for Yorkshire people either.  If you’re one of those, keen to tick off all 59 racecourses across the country, then make a week of it and do an easy eight – you won’t be the first!  Visit the racecourse websites to find out more and book tickets;

Friday 19^th July – Pontefract Racecourse, Beer Festival and Definitely Mightbe
Saturday 20^th July – Ripon Racecourse
Saturday 20^th July (eve) – Doncaster Racecourse, 80’s Night
Sunday 21^st July – Redcar Racecourse, Circus Family Fun Day
Monday 22^nd July – Beverley Racecourse (eve)
Wednesday 24^th July – Catterick Racecourse, Family Fun Day
Thursday 25^th July – Doncaster Racecourse
Friday 26^th July – Thirsk Racecourse, Family Day
Friday 26^th July (eve) – York Racecourse, Kaiser Chiefs
Saturday 27^th July – York Racecourse, S Club

We look forward to your visit to come experience everything and we mean everything, that our racing county has to offer.