Yorkshire Jockeys Horse Racing

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York is back in action with a brand new raceday on the first Saturday of July, as a combination of an £150,000 seven race card, with some special races and a concert from pop superstar, Olly Murs, has already proven popular.

As with every afternoon at York, there is a valuable feature race, on this occasion a £50,000 middle distance handicap supported by Sunbets, who give their backing to the whole day

Another likely first on the afternoon will come courtesy of the winning rider in the “Jump Jockeys Nunthorpe”; a handicap contest over the flying five furlongs, only open to riders who hold a National Hunt License. Will champion jockey, Richard Johnson, record his first Knavesmire winner?

The final and longest race of the afternoon, over one and a half miles, is another unusual handicap as it potentially puts three types of jockey in direct competition. All need to be female riders however, as the name Pro-AM suggests, fully fledged professionals can compete against amateurs, as well as apprentices. York was the first course to see a female rider win a Group One when Alex Greaves landed the Coolmore Nunthorpe of 1997, a feat repeated by Hayley Turner in 2011. The growing reputations of York winners already this season, Josephine Gordon, Georgia Cox or Jo Mason would be further enhanced by a victory.

The popularity of the event means that the racecourse has reached capacity on Stands Side so a crowd of over 30,000 is already guaranteed. There will be no admissions to Stand Side sold on the day, however racegoers can still be part of the atmosphere by visiting The Course Enclosure (called the Picnic Enclosure by some). In the middle of the racecourse, it is only open for sales once gates open (11.15am) on the raceday, Course Enclosure will be part of the atmosphere and offers an angled view of the stage (and great view of the racing) moreover the sound system will reach this area. Admission to the Course Enclosure is £10 for adults, £8 for over 65s and free of charge to accompanied under 18s. It can only be purchased when the gates open at 11.15am on Saturday. The capacity of Course Enclosure is significant and it has not reached this capacity on previous music events, however the advice, as always, is to arrive early.

Expecting a lot of first time racegoers, there will be the opportunity to explore a track recently voted as the best in Britain, by the knowledgeable Racegoers Club. The upgraded areas such as the new Eat Between Our Races Café form part of a rolling programme of improvements that has seen the unveiling of £10m Northern End Development in recent years. True to York’s reputation, a bottle of champagne will be available from £31. Other tastes are catered for with an extended range of craft beers brewed by Ainsty Ales just beyond the six furlong start, the introduction of premium mixers from Fever-Tree to join the premium spirits served on the smart Moët Ice Roof Terrace, or the easy availability of Heineken 0.0 as a new, refreshing, zero alcohol option.

The sunbets.co.uk Youbetcha British EBF Maiden Fillies Stakes over seven furlongs is one of 21 races at York to also benefit from the generous support of The European Breeders’ Fund.

Racegoers will have the chance to get close to a racehorse as Yorkshire based equine charity; New Beginnings are bringing Harry, (a thoroughbred who raced here in 1994 using his professional name of Golden Hello) as well as his friend Meg the pony.

The relaxed atmosphere of this new fixture is further enhanced with live musical entertainment provided by the Paradise Steel Band on the Edwardian Weighing Room Lawn and the Players under the Knavesmire Stand.

After racing, all eyes will focus on the dedicated music stage as Olly Murs will entertain the crowd. Since he shot to fame on ‘X Factor’ in 2009, Olly has crafted four multi-platinum albums, produced four number One singles, whilst clocking up total record sales exceeding 10 million. His latest album, ’24 HRS’ sees him working with an array of producers and was recorded in both London and L.A. – Olly has never sounded so good.

For those wanting to get even closer to Olly, there is a competition running on the York Races Facebook page, offering the prize of  “meet and greet” with the singing star, entries need to submitted between 5pm Monday to 10am Thursday.

The ‘Punters Panel’ will preview the action before racing from the winners’ enclosure, while a new giant screen on the John Carr Terrace will provide racegoers with an even closer view of proceedings on the track.

Those who want to find out more about this raceday and the season ahead can visit York’s website on www.yorkracecourse.co.uk<http://www.yorkracecourse.co.uk/>