Chester July 2010 Record Crowds - Chester - Record Crowds, July 2010
A new record was set on the weekend of Ladies and Gents Evening and totesport Day at Chester Racecourse, 9th & 10th July, with crowds of over 50,000 enjoying two fixtures at the historic Roodee. 14,380 people watched the racing action on Friday evening (up 4% on 2009) and a phenomenal crowd of 36,174 (12% up on 2009) enjoyed the sunshine on Saturday.
Friday 9th July:
Friday’s racing kicked off with the world’s first ever ‘pink’ horse race for female horses and jockeys. There was a thrilling finish, with Rascal In The Mix taking the prize. The race commentator had his work cut out calling the winner home; all nine runners and riders lined up in pink, the jockeys wearing specially designed pink racing silks and the horses sporting pink number cloths! The Breast Cancer Care Pink Mile was arranged by Chester Racecourse and Racing for Change with the aim of raising £25,000 for the charity.
Amy Ryan, winning jockey, commented: “That was great – I flew up from Newmarket this afternoon where I had a winner, so it’s my first ever double. It was great to be involved in a race for such a great cause and I hope lots of money has been raised for Breast Cancer Care.”
Chester Racecourse CEO Richard Thomas added: “The race went really well and it was a great sight to see the pink field power up the Chester straight. We have raised significant money for an excellent cause and also made a small piece of horseracing history.”
Friday 9th July:
Friday’s racing kicked off with the world’s first ever ‘pink’ horse race for female horses and jockeys. There was a thrilling finish, with Rascal In The Mix taking the prize. The race commentator had his work cut out calling the winner home; all nine runners and riders lined up in pink, the jockeys wearing specially designed pink racing silks and the horses sporting pink number cloths! The Breast Cancer Care Pink Mile was arranged by Chester Racecourse and Racing for Change with the aim of raising £25,000 for the charity.
Amy Ryan, winning jockey, commented: “That was great – I flew up from Newmarket this afternoon where I had a winner, so it’s my first ever double. It was great to be involved in a race for such a great cause and I hope lots of money has been raised for Breast Cancer Care.”
Chester Racecourse CEO Richard Thomas added: “The race went really well and it was a great sight to see the pink field power up the Chester straight. We have raised significant money for an excellent cause and also made a small piece of horseracing history.”
The evening also included the Best Dressed Couple competition hosted by Darren Jeffries and Matt Littler who used to play Hollyoaks favourites Max and OB for over 10 years. Golden Square Shopping Centre provided the prizes for the competition worth over £2,500.
The four finalist couples were:
1st Sophie and Daniel Foster from Stafford
2nd Alison and Richard Harrison from Derby
3rd Deborah and Mathew Chave from Staffordshire
4th Laura Blackburn and Danny Evans from Chester
At 7.25pm on Friday evening the racecourse was blasted with the sounds of Lady Gaga as the go-style.co.uk dancers Flashmob started in front of the County Stand. Beginning with a single dancer the group grew to over 100 as they performed their specially choreographed dance for thousands of startled racegoers. The dancers received rapturous applause for their finale to Salt ‘n Peppa’s ‘Push It!’.
Sat 10th July:
The totesport Day July meeting has always been one of the most popular in the Chester Racecourse calendar and this year exceeded all expectations with more than 36,000 people at the course including over 15,000 in the Open Course. All of the stands had already sold out weeks before the fixture and the fine weather brought crowds in their droves down to the Open Course.
Both the first and third race were broadcast nationally by Channel 4 racing - the favourite Lord Shankahill, riden by Tom Queally, took the 1st race of the day, the 2.15 totepool City Plate (Class 1, Listed Race).
The 3.20 totesport City Wall Stakes (Class 1, Listed Race) was won by Blue Jack and jockey Richard Kingscote, Michael Owen was in the Paddock to collect his prize as the winning owner.
Richard Thomas concluded: “We have had an absolutely amazing weekend here at the Roodee – to have 50,000 here over the two days is great, everyone I’ve seen has really enjoyed their day at the races. It is credit to the team here at the racecourse that we consistently provide racegoers with a great experience – everyone has worked very hard over the last three weeks with both Racing and Show Jumping, now we’re getting ready for our biggest event of the year, Sunday Funday on 1st August.”
Next fixture at Chester Races is Sunday Funday on 1st August.
A fantastic family day out a full day’s racing with lots of free children’s entertainment. Special 2 for 1 offer for Tattersalls tickets and County badges.
<http://www.chester-races.com/family-funday>
The four finalist couples were:
1st Sophie and Daniel Foster from Stafford
2nd Alison and Richard Harrison from Derby
3rd Deborah and Mathew Chave from Staffordshire
4th Laura Blackburn and Danny Evans from Chester
At 7.25pm on Friday evening the racecourse was blasted with the sounds of Lady Gaga as the go-style.co.uk dancers Flashmob started in front of the County Stand. Beginning with a single dancer the group grew to over 100 as they performed their specially choreographed dance for thousands of startled racegoers. The dancers received rapturous applause for their finale to Salt ‘n Peppa’s ‘Push It!’.
Sat 10th July:
The totesport Day July meeting has always been one of the most popular in the Chester Racecourse calendar and this year exceeded all expectations with more than 36,000 people at the course including over 15,000 in the Open Course. All of the stands had already sold out weeks before the fixture and the fine weather brought crowds in their droves down to the Open Course.
Both the first and third race were broadcast nationally by Channel 4 racing - the favourite Lord Shankahill, riden by Tom Queally, took the 1st race of the day, the 2.15 totepool City Plate (Class 1, Listed Race).
The 3.20 totesport City Wall Stakes (Class 1, Listed Race) was won by Blue Jack and jockey Richard Kingscote, Michael Owen was in the Paddock to collect his prize as the winning owner.
Richard Thomas concluded: “We have had an absolutely amazing weekend here at the Roodee – to have 50,000 here over the two days is great, everyone I’ve seen has really enjoyed their day at the races. It is credit to the team here at the racecourse that we consistently provide racegoers with a great experience – everyone has worked very hard over the last three weeks with both Racing and Show Jumping, now we’re getting ready for our biggest event of the year, Sunday Funday on 1st August.”
Next fixture at Chester Races is Sunday Funday on 1st August.
A fantastic family day out a full day’s racing with lots of free children’s entertainment. Special 2 for 1 offer for Tattersalls tickets and County badges.
<http://www.chester-races.com/family-funday>
