Wetherby Races: Thousands expected to flock to 'Grand National trial' at Yorkshire racecourse
Crowds are expected to flock to Wetherby Racecourse on Boxing Day to maintain what has become a beloved tradition for thousands of Yorkshire residents.
The track’s chief executive, Jonjo Sanderson, said while its Charlie Hall meeting in November was high-profile within racing, the post-Christmas event represented "a really important fixture” for Wetherby Racecourse as its biggest footfall day, while the racing there on the following day was also different from the rest of its meets.
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Hide AdHe said: “It’s a very different demographic crowd to that which would normally get. It’s very much local people back for Christmas and the next generation of race-goers.


"It’s very much a fun family raceday, many who come are one a year race-goers, it’s a bit of a ritual that they come to Wetherby on Boxing Day or the 27th.
"It’s not a great crossover with our more traditional and high quality racing fixtures we have at other times of the year. Our crowds in the heady days of the 80s and 90s would have been 14,000, but I would hope we will get 9,000 on Boxing Day this year and 6,000 the following day.”
It is believed to be a tradition that dates from the 1940s, with festive attractions including a large family marquee in the Paddock will feature circus-style entertainment throughout the day, roasted chestnut stands and a band.
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Hide AdMr Sanderson added: “There is obviously a number of other fixtures on Boxing Day, in this part of the world we have got Sedgefield just up the road, Market Rasen in Lincolnshire and for the last two years Aintree as well.


"With four fixtures in the North it does mean trainers need to pick and choose and we’ve certainly seen the runners are much more regionalised around Christmas. It’s very much a Yorkshire fixture for Yorkshire participants in front of a local crowd.
"On Charlie Hall day we would get bus-loads from Manchester or Newcastle. On Boxing Day you could throw a blanket around Wetherby, Harrogate, Leeds, York, Selby and Thirsk where we would be drawing our crowd from.”
The Boxing Day fixture, which is sponsored by William Hill, will feature the three-mile and 19-fence Rowland Meyrick Handicap Chase, a Premier Handicap National Hunt steeplechase which is open to horses aged four years or older.
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Hide AdThe race is named after a renowned breeder of racehorses who became a long-serving clerk to the course at Wetherby following the First World War and boasts subsequent Cheltenham Gold Cup winners Forgive 'N Forget (1984) and The Thinker (1986) among its roll of honour.


Mr Sanderson said: “It’s a bit of a Grand National trial. We look forward to staging that and will be shown on ITV as part of their programme from Kempton where they have the King George.”
Declarations for the Boxing Day meet will be announced on December 23.
He said while paddock and Course Enclosure tickets would be available at the gate on both days, there had been strong demand for this year’s post-Christmas fixtures, and restaurant and hospitality packages had sold out for both days as well as for Premier Enclosure tickets on Boxing Day.
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Hide AdMr Sanderson said: “We have online sales and our advice is always fo people to get in an buy early in order to get the best prices. It’s amazing when we come back on Boxing Day morning and look at our online ticket portal and the number of tickets being bought on Christmas Day.”


The meeting follows the course investing £50,000 in stable yard and horse welfare upgrades, including revamping 12 of its 90 stables and veterinary box for horses to receive treatment, while introducing a doubled-sized veterinary holding box for horses which the vet wants to monitor.
Other improvements this year have seen a 30-metre trot up strip created for vets to check horses are not carrying injuries on race days.
Looking ahead, Mr Sanderson said this year would see smaller scale improvements, such as to the weighing room, major changes elsewhere were on the horizon.
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Hide AdHe said: “It’s a very old building and it probably shouldn’t be here, but on the flip side it’s got character and I’m constantly getting people say to me ‘please don’t get rid of the Paddock Bar. It’s a trade-off between maintaining an old building and keeping something with a bit of character and heritage.
"The Paddock area is probably our next major development scheme, but while we have plans on the drawing board, we’re not ready to enact any of those yet. I’d imagine it would be another two or three years before our next major redevelopment.”
For tickets and details, visit wetherbyracing.co.uk/
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