Thousands bask in sun and soak up atmosphere at Press Family Raceday

Thousands of racegoers on Knavesmire enjoy The Press Family Raceday Buy this photo » Thousands of racegoers on Knavesmire enjoy The Press Family Raceday

THE late summer sunshine and warm temperatures made for a successful Press Family Raceday as thousands headed to York Racecourse to take in the atmosphere.

This year the annual event on Knavesmire was boosted by the addition of a listed race, the £33,000 Garrowby Stakes, as well as usual family favourites such as a fun fair and an appearance from children’s television character Peppa Pig.

Between 24,000 and 25,000 racegoers flocked through the turnstiles.

Speaking from the event yesterday, racecourse marketing manager, James Brennan said: “The sun has just come out again and it has been glorious here. Peppa Pig has been a big draw and there are lots of children with their faces painted. The atmosphere is everything a Press Family Raceday should be.”

He said the weather was a huge improvement on last year when temperatures were 10C cooler than the 25C enjoyed by crowds yesterday. “The important thing is that people come to enjoy it and that’s certainly what they seem to be doing,” he said. “This is the warmest race day we have had so far this year.”

Steve Hughes, managing editor of The Press, said: “The turnout has been fantastic and it’s a great atmosphere as always and we hope everyone has had a good time.”

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The racing saw the Garrowby Stakes won by Mince, the Roger Charlton-trained horse ridden by James Doyle.

Comments(7)

yorkiedave says...
2:06pm Mon 10 Sep 12

We thoroughly enjoyed the day - good weather,good racing and delightful company. The one complaint would have to be the decision to charge £10 entry to the enclosure on a family day. It is only £5/£6 for the next meeting in October. Surely this should have been the case on Sunday ?

Frodo Baggins says...
7:38pm Mon 10 Sep 12

To be honest I thought the turnout was poor considering the weather. I was in the County Stand and there was a lot more room than last year and it didn't seem as busy on the popular side as previous years. As "yorkiedave" says, perhaps the £10 charge put a number of people off? In all it was a good day with good racing but I think the powers that be need to look at attracting people to days like these, not fleecing them.

TheTruthHurts says...
9:27pm Mon 10 Sep 12

I went with Mrs truth and had a really nice day. I agree with frodo and it was nowhere near as busy as last year but i found that quite pleasant and refreshing.
'
Im sure Mrs truth got the tickets via a press promotion was only £6 each (county stand) Got to see some retired greyhounds and went to see harry. Only saw peppa once though which was a bit disappointing, the guy in that suit has the easiest days work!

jorvik says...
7:59am Tue 11 Sep 12

I too had a great day but thought it was disgraceful that the disabled Motorists who parked next to the cheap side had to wait nearly two hours while the rest of the (able bodied) drivers took priority.When I tried to point this out to the police officers and other public sector workers who were more interested in looking at passing scantily clad totty walking past.They took offence.Discriminati
on by the police and council or total incompetence you decide

Oncebitten says...
3:16pm Tue 11 Sep 12

jorvik wrote:
I too had a great day but thought it was disgraceful that the disabled Motorists who parked next to the cheap side had to wait nearly two hours while the rest of the (able bodied) drivers took priority.When I tried to point this out to the police officers and other public sector workers who were more interested in looking at passing scantily clad totty walking past.They took offence.Discriminati

on by the police and council or total incompetence you decide
Abled bodied or disabled once you are sat in your car...same same...

jorvik says...
3:40pm Tue 11 Sep 12

Oncebitten wrote:
jorvik wrote:
I too had a great day but thought it was disgraceful that the disabled Motorists who parked next to the cheap side had to wait nearly two hours while the rest of the (able bodied) drivers took priority.When I tried to point this out to the police officers and other public sector workers who were more interested in looking at passing scantily clad totty walking past.They took offence.Discriminati


on by the police and council or total incompetence you decide
Abled bodied or disabled once you are sat in your car...same same...
Oh I see so you can't be disabled if your sat in a car you dik,making the disabled car park wait until the large car park is allowed to leave instead of using traffic control to fairly allow both sets of drivers to be able to leave at the same time,and once bitten even with my one leg I'd still like to give you a boot up the backside

TheTruthHurts says...
4:57pm Tue 11 Sep 12

jorvik wrote:
Oncebitten wrote:
jorvik wrote:
I too had a great day but thought it was disgraceful that the disabled Motorists who parked next to the cheap side had to wait nearly two hours while the rest of the (able bodied) drivers took priority.When I tried to point this out to the police officers and other public sector workers who were more interested in looking at passing scantily clad totty walking past.They took offence.Discriminati



on by the police and council or total incompetence you decide
Abled bodied or disabled once you are sat in your car...same same...
Oh I see so you can't be disabled if your sat in a car you dik,making the disabled car park wait until the large car park is allowed to leave instead of using traffic control to fairly allow both sets of drivers to be able to leave at the same time,and once bitten even with my one leg I'd still like to give you a boot up the backside
Ahhh so you are the legless one who staggers out of the racecourse and makes everyone in Southbank moan so much! :-)

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