Families race to big day out (From York Press)

Record-breaking crowd attends The Press Family Raceday

9:11am Monday 6th September 2010 in News By Megi Rychlikova, megi.rychlikova@thepress.co.uk

CHAMPAGNE or chocolate ice cream, there was something for everyone young or old at the record-breaking Press Family Raceday.

With 25,662 babies, children, mums, dads, grannies and granddads passing through the turnstiles, yesterday’s packed racecard saw the biggest crowd yet for the tenth annual Sunday event, topping 2004’s attendance of 24,600.

Racing connoisseurs enjoyed the chance to watch top-class racing in perfect weather. But, as always, the day belonged to the families of York and the surrounding area.

They packed the course enclosure to hold picnics on the grass or sipped champagne and Pimms in the county stand area; covered their faces with colour in the face-painting competition or dressed up to the nines; admired riders as young as 11 in the pony racing that started the day; studied the form and took tips from granny; and had generational disputes as to whether Peppa Pig or Hitchens, the 4-1 winner in the big race, was the four-legged star of the day.

“It’s been going for ten years and it seems to go from strength to strength,” said James Brennan, the racecourse’s head of marketing. “It is an opportunity for York to come and enjoy their local racecourse.”

Steve Hughes, managing editor of The Press, which sponsored the raceday, said: “It is a great day out for the family. It is fantastic so many people turned out to visit the world class facility right on our doorstep.”

Bride-to-be Lucy Watson, of Darlington, had no idea she was going to the race day until her friends told her on Friday where her hen day would be – then spent Saturday buying her the right racegoing outfit.

On a more sombre note, jockeys wore black armbands all day in honour of their colleagues Jan Wilson and Jamie Kyne, who died in a fire in Norton exactly one year ago. Friends of the tragic pair and the racecourse’s chief executive watched the races after attending a memorial service in Malton.