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Ready for off in Wales
Years of planning and hard graft come to fruition in the heart of South Wales this evening as Ffos Las, Britain's newest turf racecourse for over 80 years, opens to a sell-out crowd of 10,000 people.
Nestled snugly into the hillside between the villages of Llanelli and Carmarthen to the west of Swansea, on the site of a former open-cast coal mine, the ambitious project is the brainchild of local businessman Dai Walters.
Walters is also an owner and looks to have a standout chance of winning the first race with his Ffos Las Diamond, trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by Tony McCoy.
The 64-year-old has pooled Welsh resources and employed his own civil engineering firm, Walters Group, to carve out a spectacular 60m-wide track with huge sweeping bends, which has brought acclaim from leading jockeys, trainers and racing professionals.
The lush National Hunt and Flat track of a mile-and-a-half circumference contrasts starkly against the bleak hills which rise from its parameters, with the first third of the straight six-furlong sprint course carved out of the mountainside.
With Wales' other two racecourses of Bangor and Chepstow bordering England, Ffos Las – meaning blue ditch – is the only track in the grass-roots of the country following the closure of Tenby and Cardiff in the 1930s.
And the local community is weaved into the fabric of the enterprise. The brewery supplying the beer is 10 miles down the road, local caterers provide food in the owners' and trainers' bar, the cleaners come from the local village and the spring water originates in nearby Pembrokeshire.
"The council have been so supportive that we are trying to give as much back to the local community as possible,'' explains general manager Jon Williams.
"Support from the local community has been 200 per cent. There was a bit of scepticism early doors but as we have got closer to the time people have been saying that it is amazing.
"There was talk of a racecourse about 10 miles from here about 15 years ago but that didn't get off the ground. Dai Walters then acquired this land when he bought a company called Celtic Energy in 2003.
"'This is built on solid foundations and when Dai wants to do something he wants to do it properly. The people of west Wales are very interested in equine sports be it harness racing, point-to-points or anything to do with horses and being outdoors.''
An over-subscribed seven-race jumps card kicks off proceedings, with racegoers able to arrive early and witness Yeats' attempt at a fourth Ascot Gold Cup on the big screens.
A further seven fixtures will follow this year.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
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Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 23 C
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