Racecourse ready for community day!

HOOK Norton Brewery's dray and shire horses Lucas and Nelson have been out helping to promote the community race day that will celebrate the heritage of Warwick.

The town's racecourse is also inviting local businesses to showcase their role when it hosts its Proudly Warwick Race Day on Wednesday, 23rd May.

It is one of the most lucrative race days of the season at Warwick, boasting £100,000 in prize money across an eight race card.

Highlights include the £30,000 Wigley Group Carnival Chase, the £25,000 Feldon Dunsmore Building Solutions Hurdle and The Hook Norton Brewery 1849 Classic Coronation Handicap Hurdle.

The race day will also feature the third annual Jockey Club Challenge Charity Race, which raises money for the Air Ambulance Service and has raised more than £35,000 for the charity in the last two years.

Warwick Racecourse was a finalist for the Community and Corporate and Social Responsibility Award at the Racecourse Association’s Showcase Awards 2017 for its work on the St Mary’s Land Masterplan.

The new-look entrance, opened by the Mayor of Warwick, Cllr Stephen Cross earlier this year, was the first step of the masterplan to improve the common land which is home to the racecourse and other community assets.

The racecourse is one of the oldest in the country with racing being traced back to as early as 1694, when the sport was introduced as part of efforts to rebuild the town after the Great Fire.

Cllr Cross said: “The increased attendances at Warwick Racecourse are making quite a difference in the local economy which harks back to why the people of the town thought it was a good idea to first establish racing in the town.

“The fact that we have an annual race day celebrating Warwick reflects that history and it is a great tradition to have.”