Thursday 27th May 2010
Sparkling Bank Holiday weekend entertainment at Newmarket
The three day Bank Holiday weekend race meeting at Newmarket, which starts tomorrow (Friday), promises racegoers top class horse racing and an exciting array of added entertainment. Families are particularly well catered for, not least because all children under the age of 18 are admitted free, while any adults called “Charles” will be admitted free on Saturday!
A quality seven race card tomorrow sets the ball rolling (first race 2.20pm) before the entertainment level rises on Saturday when a top class race programme (first race 2.15pm) is accompanied by celebrations to mark the 350th anniversary of Charles II’s accession to the throne following the English Civil War on 29th May 1660.
Without Charles’s passion for Newmarket and for horseracing – the monarch moved his entire court to the town every year so that he could attend and participate in racing on Newmarket Heath - the town would never have become the historic Home of Horseracing that it is today.
By sheer coincidence the King Charles II Stakes was already scheduled to be run on this day’s race programme and to mark the anniversary a troop of nine actors will play the part of some of the main characters from the time – Charles II himself; his favourite mistress, Nell Gwyn; the main chronicler of the period, Samuel Pepys; together with General Monck, Prince Rupert, the Earl of Arlington, the Duke of Monmouth, James Duke of York and the Earl of St Albans.
A special competition – a kind of mobile treasure hunt - has been planned with racegoers being given a series of questions on Charles II and the Restoration which these characters will be able to help them answer.
Moreover, anyone with the first or last name of “Charles” who can prove their identity at the turnstiles will enjoy free admission on Saturday!
The free children’s playground will be in full flow on Saturday together with giant inflatables, but the kids’ entertainment will be further enhanced on Sunday for a raceday sponsored by the Rotary Club of Newmarket who will be raising funds to help eradicate the disease of polio around the world.
A mini petting farm, which proved hugely popular last year with children able to feed calves, pick up chickens and stroke goats and sheep, will be set up on Sunday. Rowley’s Kids Club will be recruiting new members with a free goody bag and the chance to meet the club’s mascot for everyone who joins, while two pony races, the first at 1.15pm, will precede the full thoroughbred card which starts at 2.20pm.
“It’s an action-packed three days which lies ahead and when it comes to a Bank Holiday day out for all the family, what we have to offer on Saturday and Sunday will hopefully put us high up on the list,” said Stephen Wallis, Newmarket Racecourses’ Managing Director.
Adult admission costs £22 for the Premier Enclosure each day, £16 for Grandstand & Paddock and just £5 for the Rowley Enclosure (which is not open on Friday). Generous concessions are available for Senior Citizens, NUS card holders and anyone aged 18-24. All children under 18 are admitted free (those under 16 must be accompanied by an adult).
