Racing and fashion combine in the annual Pontefract Ladies Day on Wednesday 5th August and there’s never been a better excuse to buy a new outfit! Courtesy of RIU Hotels and Resorts, Pontefract Racecourse is offering an all inclusive, week long holiday for 2 to one of the RIU resorts in Mexico. The prize includes return flights from Manchester. With such a fantastic offering, the competition is bound to be fiercely contested!
The Capital FM Street Stars will be on the lookout for the Best Dressed Ladies from the minute that the gates open at 12noon and they will allocate numbered cards to 100 lucky finalists before the judging gets under way at 1pm. This year, the judging panel will consist of JoJo from the Capital FM Breakfast Show along with the National Business Manager for RIU, Maria Battersby.
The Racecourse is urging anyone wishing to be considered for the Best Dressed Lady competition to please make sure that they arrive early on the day so that they do not miss out. There’s an added incentive to arrive early as the first 500 ladies through the Premier Enclosure will get a free glass of bubbly and a buttonhole, while the first 50 gents will get a bespoke Ladies Day tie courtesy of tiesplanet.com.
There’s also some fantastic action on the track too. The feature race is the £15,000 tiesplanet.com – Ladies Love Guys In Ties Handicap. Aside from being one of the best named races on the racing calendar, it’s also a high class handicap for 3 year olds. Sir Michael Stoute’s ‘Rocket Ship’ ran his rivals ragged last year when beating Godolphins ‘Hidden Gold’ who has since gone on to Listed success. With the race normally a pointer to a high class 3 year old, it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on the representatives from the Newmarket stables who like to plunder this good prize.
Local bookmakers Jayne and Steve Robinson sponsor the supporting 1 mile handicap. They won’t be keen to take many bets on a Richard Fahey winner as this season’s leading trainer bids to follow up after Imshivalla scored her second course victory in this race last year. The popular Malton trainer is likely to have at least one representative in a bid to double up.
There’s a real variety of races on the card as the EBF and the Friends of Francis Hamilton team up to sponsor the £10,000 6f Maiden for 2 year olds. Godolphins ‘Maftool’ was an impressive winner of the race last year and went on to win a couple of Group 3 races later in the season. With the ‘Plus 10’ promotion making this race worth £20,000, there’s bound to be a useful juvenile or two lurking in the runners.
Last year, Richard Kendall Estate Agent opened a new office in Pontefract town centre and sponsored the opening race on the card to advertise this. They’re back again in 2015 to promote all their Estate Agencies in the area and will have some eye catching promotions on the day ahead of the race for Gentleman Amateur riders that bears their name and gets proceedings underway on the day.
With the school holidays now in full swing, there is plenty going on for the kids too with the special Mad Hatters Tea Party. It’s the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland this year and to celebrate, the Racecourse will be hosting a giant street party in the Silver Enclosure. Mums and Dads looking for things to do can book their children in to the party for just £10. With a range of activities and garden games run by a qualified crèche, you can be safe in the knowledge that the little ones will be entertained, well fed and well looked after! Full details can be found on the Racecourse website at www.pontefract-races.co.uk .
With the Park Suite Restaurant, Marquee and Hospitality Boxes already fully booked on Ladies Day, racegoers are encouraged to book their tickets and badges early to avoid disappointment. With a small number of ‘Premier Packages’ still available, there’s still the chance to upgrade your Ladies Day out! To book, or to view full details of the day, please visit the course website (www.pontefract-races.co.uk ) or give the office a call on 01977 781307. Racing gets underway at 2.10pm and the gates open at 12noon!