With the summer holidays now in full flow, what better way to spend a day with the family than at Ripon’s annual ‘Children’s’ Day on Monday. The event held this year on the 7th August, not only has FREE entry for all accompanied under 18’s but there are lots of FREE fun and goodies too!
Very much an established part of August’s Yorkshire racing calendar, the course have a fun filled afternoon of activities planned for children in the Course Enclosure. The main attraction for the children will be the cute and furry friends brought by The Riggamoor Mini Farm, along with a variety of funfair rides and bouncy castles as part of the afternoon’s FREE entertainment.
The freebies don’t stop there either, each child will be given a FREE ice cream and the racecourse will also be offering (while stocks last!) FREE kids activity packs with race cards and sweets for the youngsters to help them learn all about horse racing.
The Racing Roadshow will also be in the course enclosure for racegoers of all ages to learn about horses, jockeys and racing in general. ‘Racing to Schools’, an organisation dedicated to helping children understand the wonderful world of racing will also be providing an equicisor for you to test your own jockey skills. (see photo)
James Hutchinson, Managing Director and Clerk of the Course said:
“Our annual Children’s Day is the perfect day out for all the family and a great introduction for new racegoers. We have a fantastic afternoon of racing planned and lots of fun as always for the junior racegoers. What better way to start a fantastic month of racing here at Ripon!”
Turning to the racing, the days feature race is ‘The Armstrong Memorial Handicap Stakes’ a race for three-year-olds over six furlongs. This year commemorates the 61st running of the Armstrong Memorial race and is supported by the Armstrong Family, one of the country’s most famous racing dynasties.
The Armstrong family has strong links with racing in Yorkshire, with the late brothers Sam and Gerald Armstrong both well recognised as legendary Yorkshire trainers, Sam having also trained in Newmarket.
Colin Armstrong, son of late trainer Gerald, is an active director of Ripon Race Company and is also the genius behind the much loved local tourist attraction ‘The Forbidden Corner’ at Middleham.
The gates on Monday open at 12.15pm with the first of seven races starting at 2.15pm, with FREE entry for all accompanied under 18’s. Adult admission is available from £7 per person in the Course Enclosure, or £20 (inc admission for four) perfect for those picnics with the family.
Ripon next race for their Alice in Wonderland Family day the following Monday on 14th August before they host their traditional ‘William Hill Great St Wilfrid’ meeting on Saturday 19th August. It’s their most valuable raceday of the season and is one of the most highly anticipated sprints of the season with over £150,000 of prize money on offer that afternoon.
You can keep up to date with all the latest news and offers from the course on their social media pages, or by visiting their website.
Closing details
Ripon Races are a flat turf racecourse, one of nine racecourses in Yorkshire. They hold 17 race meetings in 2017, from April to September with a variety of evening, weekend and family fun race days.
The race meeting on Monday 7th August starts at 14.15pm with the gates open from 12.15pm and the last of 7 races at 17.15pm.
Website: www.ripon-races.co.uk