Evening meetings are always extremely popular at Pontefract and the last of the season is our Red Shirt Night and Beer Festival on Friday Evening 21st July. The race meeting also marks the second of the Friday Night Music Night series held at the Racecourse in 2017 and, with Cheryl, Mike and Jay, formerly of 80s Legends Bucks Fizz playing straight after racing, it promises to be the best Red Shirt Night ever!
Bucks Fizz were one of the top selling British groups of the 1980s – they had 11 top 20 singles during the 1980s including ‘If You Can’t Stand The Heat’, ‘New Beginning’ and ‘Now Those Days Are Gone’. They had three massive number ones – Land of Make Believe, Making Your Mind Up and My Camera Never Lies – the first two of which made it in to the top 50 best selling singles of the decade in the UK! They sold in excess of 15 million records, spending 219 weeks in the UK charts alone!
The band will forever be associated with the Eurovision Song Contest. It is 35 years since their ‘Making Your Mind Up’ won the 1981 Contest thanks to the famous skirt ripping dance routine! The single went on to be number 1 in nine countries across the world.
Jack Berry and Red Shirt Night have a place firmly in the history of Pontefract Racecourse. As a trainer, Jack Berry was renowned for wearing his Red Shirt as his lucky symbol. He was easy to spot when cheering home the likes of Mind Games and Paris House, two of his very best horses. Since retiring, he’s been the driving force behind Jack Berry House – a state of the art rehabilitation centre for injured and retired jockeys in Malton. Now in its 25th year, some racegoers will also don a red shirt but it’s certainly not a requirement! The charity race night is one of the most popular fixtures at the West Yorkshire track!
The popular race meeting also incorporates a Beer Festival, with local breweries Revolutions Brewing, Pennine Breweries, Ossett Brewery and the Bier Huis all showcasing their wares. The beer festival will be held throughout the evening in the Grandstand & Paddock Enclosure and racegoers in both this area and the Premier Enclosure will be able to access the trademark best selling ales.
There’s an exciting racing programme as well with 6 races kicking off at 6.30pm.The feature race is the £15,000 Betfred Supports Jack Berry House Handicap – a 5 furlong sprint which will take around just a minute to win it! Trainer Paul Midgley has won 4 of the last 5 runnings of this race. Last year’s winner, Final Venture, was trained at the time by the late Alan Swinbank. He has since been snapped up by Paul Midgley and has been competing in Group or Listed races ever since!
There’s an interesting supporting card including the Countrywide Freight Maiden Auction Stakes which opens proceedings. This is the race where you could spot the odd star of the future! Only a few years ago, Treaty of Paris took this race before going on to beat The Grey Gatsby at York!
It’s the last evening meeting of the Summer at Pontefract and it’s always a popular event – make sure you take advantage of the advanced booking rates available through the Racecourse’s website at www.pontefract-races.co.uk.