Warwick Racecourse stalwarts to bid farewell at Celebration Racenight
HORSE RACING
WARWICK Racecourse is preparing its season finale and getting ready to say goodbye to two committee members who will be bringing down the curtain on their stewardship at the track.
Tomorrow's, Wednesday, Celebration Race Night will signal the end of a decade-long association with the racecourse for Richard Samuda and Amanda Langdale.
The race night will mark the fourth and final fixture in the Qatar Airways May Racing Carnival, which has attracted more than 12,000 visitors to the racecourse this month.
Amanda trained as an honorary steward with the British Horseracing Authority in 2009 at the same time as joining the Warwick Racecourse committee.
“It’s come on leaps and bounds, the racecourse has an exciting atmosphere and it’s a great place to race," she said.
“Warwick is a racecourse really made by the people who work there, he team are brilliant and create a wonderful environment for racing.
“In my time on the committee, Andre Klein has joined and pushed the racecourse on.
"It really is one of the top small tracks in the country now.
“Looking back, to have seen a horse like One For Arthur win here was a real highlight and in more recent times Kalashnikov.
“I’ll be sad to leave and will miss it, but I’ll definitely be staying involved in racing.”
Richard joined shortly after and says the racecourse, and the sport, has come a long way in that time, including Warwick transitioning to a jumps track.
He added: “We have made a lot of progress on the course during my time and I think the move from flat to jumps has aided that.
“With investment, the track is a now a better experience for owners and trainers than ever before. I’d like to think the committee has played a part in that.
“We’ve strengthened relationships with the town too, people appreciate what the racecourse now adds to the town, not just emotionally and historically, but economically too.
“Seeing the crowds grow has been very rewarding and I think the atmosphere has improved with that too.
“It’s been a privilege to take winners into the winners enclosure and enjoy a drink with them. It is the right time for us to move on but I’ll miss it very much.”
The battle for the title of top trainer at Warwick this season is also set to come to a head at Celebration Race Night.
Dan Skelton and Nicky Henderson are locked on 12 winners a piece going into the final fixture, with Skelton looking to be named top trainer at Warwick for a fifth successive year.
Andre Klein, general manager at Warwick Racecourse, said: “On behalf of everyone at the racecourse we would like to thank Amanda and Richard for their years of dedicated service.
“It’s been another fantastic season for us, with some brilliantly competitive races and seriously good horses.
“It was something special to see Hazels Hill win the Overbury Stud Willoughby de Broke Hunter Chase in January, and go on to land the Foxhunters Challenge Cup at The Festival.
“It’s been a year when the hard work of some of the team has been acknowledged with awards and we’ll be looking to go out on a high on Celebration Racenight."
Alongside the on-track action racegoers will be able to enjoy live music from local Irish band Lampa.
The Hook Norton Beer Carnival will also be taking place on the day.
For more information and tickets for Celebration Race Night call 01926 405560 or go to www.warwickracecourse.co.uk.
