Racing festival gets off to a record start
Story published: Friday, 19 July 2010
The Yorkshire Racing Summer Festival got off to a record breaking start with over 13,000 people attending throughout the weekend.
Attendance figures for Ripon on Saturday were up 12% on last year at 10,300 and 3,000 visited Redcar on Sunday. Beverley, which is hosting the Festival's first evening meeting today, is hopeful of another bumper crowd before the Festival moves on to Catterick, Doncaster, Thirsk, York and Pontefract.
Gary Verity says: "What a wonderful way to start the Festival, with record attendance figures! Racing is not just a fantastic sport but it is also a fantastic day out for all the family and nowhere in the UK embraces racing like Yorkshire, as these figures show.
"I am sure the rest of the Festival will be just as popular and I would urge anyone who hasn't been racing for a while to rediscover the thrill of going racing in Yorkshire as the Festival makes its way across the county this week."
Welcome to Yorkshire is sponsoring The Yorkshire Racing Summer Festival for the first time this year. It is hoped the wider Festival will become part of a holidaying experience in Yorkshire.
The remaining dates of The Yorkshire Racing Summer Festival are: Monday (evening), July 19 - BEVERLEY; Tuesday, July 20 - Richard Fahey Open Morning; Wednesday, July 21 - CATTERICK; Thursday (evening), July 22 - DONCASTER; Friday, July 23 - THIRSK; Friday (evening), July 23 - YORK; Saturday, July 24 - YORK and Sunday, July 25 - PONTEFRACT.
The Festival is supported by Welcome to Yorkshire, Sky Bet, Keepmoat, The Yorkshire Post, Yorkshire Radio and Racing For Change.
Accompanied children under-16 years of age are admitted free of charge.
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Photo: Malton trainer, Tim Easterby, who trained Peppercorn Rent to win The Welcome to Yorkshire This Is Y Selling Stakes is presented with his trophy by former Emmerdale actress Claire King and Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, at Ripon.
Editors' Notes:
- Welcome to Yorkshire is the official tourism body for Yorkshire, working to grow the region's visitor economy.
- Welcome to Yorkshire is funded by Yorkshire Forward, the Regional Development Agency charged with improving the Yorkshire and Humber economy.
- Key facts include:
- Tourism in Yorkshire is worth £6.5 billion annually
- The region's industry employs a quarter of a million people
- There are 209 million visits to Yorkshire each year
For further information please contact:
Andrew Denton - Press Officer
Email: adenton@yorkshire.com
Direct Line: 0113 322 3537
Mobile: 07855 812094
Graham Orange - Go Racing in Yorkshire
Direct Line: 01937 580051