Thirsk hosts a seven-race programme this Friday (July 26), with racing set to start at 2-10 p.m. The meeting is part of the 2013 ‘Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival’, aimed to showcase all that is best in racing in the county.
The Sky Bet Supporting The Yorkshire Racing Summer Festival Selling Stakes is contested over seven furlongs by three-year-olds, while the same distance and age group appertains for The Infinity Ecosis Tyres Handicap Stakes. A couple of races for maiden two-year-olds are supported by The European Breeders’ Fund, while sprinters take part in The Margaret Leete Memorial Handicap Stakes –a contest for fillies and mares over six furlongs supported by Cleveland Steel & Tubes Ltd.
Friday’s concluding race is a handicap race for sprinters over five furlongs for apprentice jockeys which is part of the ‘Hands & Heels’ Series – a national series of races for young riders under the Racing Excellence Initiative. Going into this race, Shelley Birkett heads the table, followed by Jordon Vaughan.
Former racehorses now under the care of ‘New Beginnings’, a community interest company – based in Yorkshire – are in attendance throughout the Festival enabling racegoers to see them at close hand. Also, racegoers will be able to obtain information regarding some of the local racing syndicates and racehorse ownership from the ‘Go Racing in Yorkshire’ mobile information unit.
There’s also the chance to win a VIP day out at the final day of the Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival at York next month – including a £200 bet with Sky Bet and an overnight stay at Raithwaite Hall – in a special racecard competition running throughout the Festival.
Yorkshire Radio will be broadcasting from the course, as part of their commitment to the Festival, and there’s a preview of the afternoon’s racing in the winners’ enclosure. A giant screen, situated opposite the main stands, will enable racegoers to follow the action. For children, there are bouncy castles and a playground in the Family Ring, while the Herr Jenns Band provide the musical entertainment from the bandstand.