Carlisle Racecourse will host its last fixture of the year on Sunday with an exciting seven-race card scheduled to take place. Here, we catch-up with General Manager Helen Willis, who tells us all about what we have to look forward to...
Our Christmas Jumper race day, which takes place this Sunday, is one of our favourite days of the year.
As well as the prospect of great racing, it also provides the perfect opportunity to get in the Christmas spirit as we look to embrace the festive season. Racegoers are encouraged to wear their best Christmas Jumper to be in with a chance of winning some fantastic prizes!
In total we have seven races to look forward to, with the first getting underway at 11.50am and the last runners and riders going to post at 3.20pm.
One of the highlights of the day’s racing is the Class Two Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle, which acts as a qualifier for the Pertemps Final at The Cheltenham Festival and attracts some exciting hurdlers to our racecourse.
The Monday after racing, we are delighted to be supporting the Hebron Evangelical Church by putting on a delicious Christmas Lunch, something our Head Chef Alistair Coe has been a part of for many years. Alistair was recently awarded Levy Chef of the Year, an incredible achievement and something we are all really proud of.
We hope everyone going along enjoys their meal and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Alistair for his continued support in our local community.
We’ve had a wonderful year here at Carlisle Racecourse with countless hours of great action both on and off the track. There have been so many highlights, but some personal favourites of mine include seeing Thunder Rock win the Colin Parker Memorial Chase back at the start of November and The Carlisle Bell & Cumberland Plate Day on the flat back in June.
As can sometimes be the case here in Cumbria, we’ve had some difficult weather conditions to contend with this year, most recently in the run up to our last meeting on Sunday, December 3 which involved a huge effort from the whole team in order to get the fixture on.
Whilst it’s disappointing when we have to abandon, we’ve always sought to make the most of it by giving food and flowers away to local causes where we can.
After Sunday, we’ll be taking a short break from racing with our next fixture set to be staged on February 5.
It’s safe to say I’m very much looking forward to 2024 and all of the amazing fixtures we have in the pipeline. For now and from everybody here at Carlisle Racecourse, we wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Tickets for all upcoming fixtures and further information about Carlisle Racecourse can be found here: www.thejockeyclub.co.uk/carlisle
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