Family Fun At Easter Across Yorkshire’s Racecourses
Racing can be enjoyed by the family all year round – little Holly, a regular at Catterick Races has shown us that! Especially as accompanied under 18’s race for free, so not only is it a fun day out but it doesn’t have to be expensive either!
Holly high fives champion jockey Brian Hughes at Catterick
As the Easter holidays approach, the inevitable question of “where can we go with the children?” can be heard from parents and carers across the country. Phrases like “family day out” or “things to do with the kids” will be filling the search engines as calendars are carefully planned, (or usually in our case, in desperation!) in order to get the children away from screens and outdoors.
Well look no further than your local racecourse. Warm up with the Lincoln Family Fun Raceday at Doncaster on Sunday 24th March. It’s the opening meeting of the flat turf season AND the start of the Easter holidays.
The action on the track features seven flat races, the gates open at 11.20am, the first race is 1.20pm and the last race is due off at 4.50pm.
You will be welcomed to the track by Ringmaster Ryan and the exhibition hall will be transformed into a circus Big Top with a range of entertainment to keep the youngsters busy, including circus workshops, kids disco, stilt walkers, jugglers, Punch & Judy, a magician and more!
A family bundle ticket includes two adults and up to six under 18’s and can be purchased for the bargain price of £25! That’s five and a half hours of entertainment for up to eight people, working out at about £3.13 each!
There are plenty of food and drink options in the food court, as well as pop-up food stalls located around the course.
Easter Monday is a bank holiday and the racing action takes place at Redcar for their opening meeting of the season.
A stunning drive across the moors (if you’re heading up from the south!) gets you to this seaside course- now there’s a thought, combine two things in one day!
The gates open at 11.54am and the first race is at 1.54pm with the last at 5.24pm. As ever, accompanied under 18’s are admitted free and the best price can be found by purchasing in advance, it’s £7 for the Course Enclosure and £18 in the Grandstand Enclosure. There’s plenty of free parking in both enclosures so that’s one less thing to worry about.
My advice would be to get there early and find the bunny stilt walkers, who will be handing out crème eggs in both the Grandstand and Course Enclosure, before they run out!
There’s a bouncy castle slide, pool football, face painters and character actors, all located in the Course Enclosure.
You can take a picnic into the Course Enclosure, or there’s a food court with a variety of options, plus three fully stocked bars in the Grandstand.
In West Yorkshire, Pontefract’s flat season starts on Tuesday 2nd April. The gates open at 12 noon and racing runs from 1.45pm to 4.45pm.
In the Picnic Enclosure there will be an Easter Egg Trail as well as some funfair rides, so plenty to entertain in between the races. In addition the office has received a large delivery of crème eggs and they will be given out on the day (if there’s any left!)
If you do miss the crème eggs, don’t worry, there are lot’s of places to get something to eat! In the Grandstand & Paddock Enclosure there’s the Pizza in the Paddock Bar and Terrace and the Paddock Food Court.
If you don’t want to take your own Picnic, there is a bar and servery in the Picnic Enclosure.
It’s always cheaper to book in advance at Pontefract and if you do so, Picnic Enclosure entry is £5, Grandstand and Paddock is £12 and Premier Enclosure is £18. All three enclosures have concessions for OAP’s, so a great opportunity to encourage the grandparents to take the children for the day!
The racing action moves to Catterick on Wednesday 5th April. After an exciting and enjoyable jump season, the flat action returns to the North Yorkshire track.
Seven races are scheduled for the day where gates open at 11.50am, the first race is due off at 1.5opm and the last at 4.55pm.
There will be an Easter Egg Hunt, plus Easter Side Stall games, such as Easter Egg in a bucket and Find the Chick. The Extreme Arena will feature a two player light reaction game and of course there will be a bouncy castle!
Advance bookings can be made up to 48 hours in advance at Catterick, making Course Enclosure admission £8 and the Grandstand & Paddock Enclosure £17. As ever, under 18’s are admitted free and concessions and military discounts are available at the gates on the day (subject to ID).
Grab a piece of cake and a coffee from the Paddock Café, or a hot meal or sandwich from the Furlongs Self-Service Cafeteria. Sandwiches and snacks are also available from the Champions Bar, on the first floor of the main grandstand.
The Centre Course bar operates in the Course Enclosure and you will also find hot and cold snacks i
n here.
If jump racing is your thing, then head to Wetherby on Thursday 5th April. The Paddock Bar, at the top side of the Parade Ring, will be converted into a Family Zone with indoor activities such as egg painting, badge and keyring making and mosaic picture making.
The Easter bunny will be hopping around and there will be an Easter-themed activity trail outside in the Paddock, where the children can let off steam.
Gates open at 10.45am and the first and last races are at 1.15pm and 3.55pm.
There will be some food concessions near the Paddock bar. My personal favourite is the pizza van! Alternatively, you can visit the Bramham Hall which has two bar areas and a bistro serving hot and cold food, sandwiches, snacks, tea and coffee.
There’s also The Tack Room Coffee Shop, offering a delicious variety of cakes, coffees and speciality teas.
Picnics can be taken into the Course Enclosure.
Advance admission into Wetherby costs £6 into the Course Enclosure, £16 into the Paddock Enclosure and £23 into the Premier Enclosure. Advance admission closes at 9.30am on the day of racing, car parking is FREE, as are under 18’s.
Once the Easter holidays are over, you will no doubt have a taste for racing and that’s great because on Sunday 28th April, at Wetherby’s opening flat fixture, they are hosting another Family Day, which features the Poundland Mascot Gold Cup.
This is a race for Mascots, run over Wetherby’s final furlong (it’s deceivingly uphill!) and previous entries have included Legoman, Dangermouse, Mr Potato Head and Mr and Mrs Sausage. This race currently holds the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest mascot race, when 131 mascots lined up and 125 completed. The winning mascot was Red Marauder (not the horse that won the Grand National, but another incarnation of him!) and he was helped to victory by Scottish international footballer Gar McAllister – you never know who you might unmask from the mascots!
But the fun doesn’t stop there! In addition to seven, furiously fast flat races, racegoers can be entertained by the National Festival Circus, a Petting Farm, Barrel Train and Inflatable Fun.
As ever, under 18’s are FREE and advance admission to the Course Enclosure is £8, Paddock Enclosure is £18 and Premier Enclosure is £26.
There is so much outdoor fun to be had at the races for young and old alike. A trip to the races is such good value, given that under 18’s are free and there are a variety of options for the paying adult.
The racecourses provide the ingredients for the multi-generational recipe, they just need you to mix everything together.
More information about the racecourses themselves can be found on our racecourses page and a full list of fixtures can also be found on our website.